The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh announced on Monday, 8 June 2026 that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed authorities to make the Fire NOC system simpler, more transparent, and time-bound, with a focus on easing requirements for investors and industries across the state.

Context

The directive, shared by the Chief Minister's Office, states that the fire NOC process must be restructured keeping in mind the needs of investment and industrial operations. The original post reads: 'mukhyamantri ji ne nivesh aur udyogon ki avashyaktaon ko dhyan mein rakhte hue fire NOC vyavastha ko aur adhik saral, pardarshi tatha samayabaddh banane ke nirdesh diye' — 'The Chief Minister has directed that the Fire NOC system be made simpler, more transparent, and time-bound, keeping in view the requirements of investment and industries.' The announcement also confirms that the target of preparing Agni Mitra and Agni Sachetak volunteers across all blocks in the state has been achieved. These are community-level fire prevention and early-response volunteers deployed at the block level.

Policy Backdrop

The Fire NOC — a mandatory No Objection Certificate for fire-safety compliance — has long been cited by industry bodies as a procedural bottleneck for setting up factories, warehouses, and commercial establishments. Since 2018, Uttar Pradesh has progressively introduced single-window clearance portals targeting approval timelines for industrial projects, with fire-safety clearances explicitly included in that reform agenda. The Agni Mitra and Agni Sachetak volunteer programmes evolved from block-level fire-safety initiatives launched in 2020-21, positioning trained community volunteers as a cost-effective extension of the state's emergency-response capacity. Completing volunteer deployment across all blocks marks a significant milestone in that grassroots preparedness drive.

Stakeholders and Impact

For industries and investors, a faster and more transparent Fire NOC process directly reduces compliance costs and project timelines, reinforcing Uttar Pradesh's push to improve its ease-of-doing-business rankings. Small and medium enterprises, which often face the sharpest delays in obtaining clearances, stand to benefit most from a streamlined system. At the community level, the next phase of the programme will see a dedicated web portal and mobile application developed for Agni Mitra and Agni Sachetak volunteers. Additionally, units such as Civil Defence, Home Guards, and the Pradeshik Rakshak Dal (PRD) — a provincial armed constabulary engaged in security and relief duties — will be formally integrated into the fire-safety volunteer network, significantly expanding its institutional reach.

What's Next

The government has indicated that the portal and mobile app development will be taken up in the upcoming phase of the programme. The formal integration of Civil Defence, Home Guards, and PRD personnel into the Agni Mitra and Agni Sachetak framework will be a key marker of how quickly the expanded network becomes operational. If implemented as announced, the combined reforms could position Uttar Pradesh as a benchmark state for both regulatory simplification in fire safety and decentralised disaster preparedness — two policy tracks that the Yogi Adityanath administration has pursued in parallel since 2017.