New Delhi, Sept. 20 -- Delhi's Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) issuance process has come to a complete standstill, leaving entrepreneurs, commercial establishments, and building owners in a high-risk bureaucratic void.

The impasse stems from a recent administrative overhaul intended to deregulate fire safety oversight, which has instead ended up freezing operations due to a lack of qualified private evaluators and delayed government extensions.

Under new government deregulation guidelines, the responsibility for inspecting, issuing, and renewing FSCs was shifted from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) to empanelled third-party private agencies.

On May 26, the government amended Rules 35 and 37 of the DFS Rules to hand over certification powers...