Definitions.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (1) "Additional District Magistrate" means an officer of the Government appointed as Additional District Magistrate under sub-section (2) of Section 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974); (2) "Appellate Authority" means an Officer two ranks above the officers nominated by the Competent Authority as per prescribed rules; (3) "Appropriate Judicial Authority" means Authority having Jurisdiction to deal with matters related to prosecution; (4) "Building" includes a high-rise building, house, outhouse, stable, godown, shed, hut, wall (other than a boundary wall), fencing, platform and any other structure whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, metal or of any other material whatsoever; (5) "Building bye-laws" means the bye-laws, rules or regulations under any relevant municipal laws and includes Bhumi Vikas Niyam 1984, the development control rules or any other building rules or regulations made under any other law for the time being in force and are in operation; (6) "Director General" means the Director General of Fire and Emergency Services appointed under Section 8 of this Act; (7) "Disaster" means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence, which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to and destruction of property, or damage to or degradation of environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area as defined in Disaster Management Act, 2005 (No. 53 of 2005), as amended from time to time: (8) "District Fire Officer" is a person appointed under sub-section (4) of Section 9 of this Act; (9) "District Magistrate" means an officer of the Government appointed as District Magistrate under sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974); (10) "Divisional Fire Officer" is a person appointed under sub-section (4) of Section 9 of this Act; (11) "Emergency" means any serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action of the Fire and Emergency Services; (12) "Emergency Services" means evacuation, rescue and relief in any disaster; (13) "Erector of pandal" means a person or association of persons, whether corporate or otherwise, who erects or makes a pandal or any structure for occupation of people on a regular or temporary basis; (14) "Fire and Emergency Services" means the Fire and Emergency Services established in the State by the Government under Section 3 of this Act; (15) "Fire Districts" means an administrative unit constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 9 of this Act; (16) "Fire Divisions" means an administrative unit constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 9 of this Act; (17) "Fire Fees" means any fee levied, charged, imposed or collected under different provisions of this Act for services rendered by the Fire and Emergency Services; (18) "Fire fighting property" means and includes,- (a) Lands and buildings used as fire stations; (b) Fire engines, equipments, tools, implements and whatsoever used for fire fighting; (c) Motor vehicles and other means of transport used in connection with fire fighting; and (d) Uniforms and badges of rank. (19) "Fire Officer" means any operational member of the Fire and Emergency Services appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 7 of this Act; (20) "Fire Prevention and Life Safety Fund" is a fund constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 28 of this Act and maintained in a separate bank account; (21) "Fire prevention and Life safety measures" means such measures as are necessary in accordance with the Building bye-laws/National Building Code of India for the containment, control and extinguishing of fire and for ensuring the safety of life and property in case of fire or as may be prescribed in the rules made in this behalf; (22) "Fire Station" means any place declared generally or specially, by the State Government to be a fire station; (23) "Fire Sub-Divisions" means an administrative unit constituted under Section 9 of this Act; (24) "Fire Tax" is a Tax levied by the Government on such land and buildings as specified in this behalf in Section 26 of this Act; (25) "Form" means a form prescribed under this Act; (26) "Government" means the Government of Chhattisgarh; (27) "Local Authority" means a Municipal Corporation or a Municipal Council or a Nagar Panchayat or an Industrial Township constituted under any relevant municipal law or a Town & Country Planning Development Authority or Special Area Development Authority Constituted under Chhattisgarh Town & Country Planning Act, 1973 for the time being in force in the State; (28) "Local Fire and Emergency Services" means Local Fire and Emergency Services of any Local Authority of the State; (29) "Member" in relation to the Fire and Emergency Services means a person appointed to the Fire and Emergency Services under this Act; (30) "Member of Service" means any person appointed under Section 7 of this Act; (31) "Multi-storey building" means a building with such minimum height as may be prescribed under the rules in this behalf, and notified by the Local Authority or the Government; (32) "National Building Code of India, 2016" means the book as amended from time to time, containing fire prevention and life safety measures to be implemented in buildings, places, premises, workshops, warehouses and industries, published by the Bureau of Indian Standards from time to time, with or without amendments; (33) "Nominated Authority" means an officer not below the rank of District Fire Officer nominated by the Director General as a nominated authority for the purposes of this Act; (34) "Nominated Officer" means an officer not below the rank of District Fire Officer nominated by the Director General for the purpose of this Act: Provided that, different officers may be nominated for different areas; (35) "Notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the word "notified" shall be construed accordingly; (36) "Occupancy" means the principal occupancy for which a building or a part of the building is used or intended to be used including subsidiary occupancies which are contingent upon it; (37) "Occupier" shall mean and include,- (a) any person who for the time being is paying or is liable to pay to the owner, the rent or any portion of the rent of the land or building in respect of which such rent is paid or payable; (b) an owner in occupation of or otherwise using his land or building; (c) a rent-free tenant of any land or building; (d) a licensee in occupation of any land or building; and (e) any person, who is liable to pay to the building owner damages for the use and occupation of any land or building; (38) "Officer-in-charge of Fire Station" includes, when the Officer-in-charge of the fire station is absent from the station or unable from illness or other cause to perform his duties, the Fire Officer next in rank to such officer and present at the station; (39) "Official Gazette" is the Gazette of the Government of Chhattisgarh; (40) "Operational Member" of the Fire and Emergency Services means any member of the Fire and Emergency Services, who is required to drive or operate a fire fighting vehicle, firefighting equipment and appliances at the site of fire and participate in the actual extinction of fire; (41) "Owner" includes a person who, for the time being, is receiving or is entitled to receive, the rent of any land or building, whether on his own account or as an agent, trustee, guardian or receiver or any other person, who should receive the rent or be entitled to receive it if the land or building or part thereof were let out to a tenant; (42) "Pandal" means a temporary structure with a roof or walls made of straw, hay, ulughass, golpatta, hogla durina, mat, canvas, cloth or other like material which is not adopted for permanent or continuous occupancy; (43) "Planning Authority" means any authority nominated by the State Government for the determined specified area notified under Chhattisgarh Town & Country Planning Act, 1973 (No. 23 of 1973); (44) "Premises" means any land or any building or part of a building and includes garden, ground and outhouse, if any, appertaining to a building or part of a building; and any land or any building or part of a building appurtenant thereto, which is used for storing explosives, explosive substances and dangerously inflammable substances; Explanation- In this sub-section, "explosive", "explosive substance" and "dangerously inflammable substance" shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in the Explosive Act, 1884 (4 of 1884), the Explosive (Substances) Act, 1908 (6 of 1908) and the Inflammable Substances Act, 1952 (20 of 1952); (45) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the State.