Chandigarh, Sept. 7 -- In 2020, after three girl students were charred to death in a fire that broke out at a paying guest (PG) accommodation in Sector 32, the Chandigarh administration had brought in stringent norms to ensure the occupants' safety. But five years on, compliance remains patchy due to the absence of a single authority to oversee the implementation. Most PGs don't even fulfil the mandatory registration norm. As per a rough estimate, Chandigarh has over 500 PGs, but only 107 are officially registered with the administration, and only 66 have fire no-objection certificates. Chandigarh Residents' Welfare Association Federation (CRAWFED) chairman Hitesh Puri says, "Most PGs run in private homes and thus the requirements of fire safety equipment and building layout approvals are extremely difficult to meet. The process needs to be simplified if we want more compliance. Officials at the estate office, which is the nodal body for PG registrations, admit there is a lack of coordination. "Since there is no single online portal for PG registrations, it is difficult to keep track of applications that get sent to multiple required departments," said Rajeev Tiwari, assistant estate officer. Residents say the lack of registration often leads to exploitative practices. Jahanavi Sisodia, an MA student at Panjab University, recalled how a PG owner in Sector 15 had promised the same accommodation to her and another student. "He even took payments from the both of us and on the day I was supposed to move in, he told me the room had been allotted to another girl," she said. With the PG unregistered, no rental agreement was signed - a practice seen among many illegal PGs - and Sisodia was left helpless. Diya Banchta, an MBBS intern, who lives in Sector 34, added, "We're paying close to what you'd pay for a flat share, but with none of the formal agreements or safety checks in place." Unregistered PG owners say the process of meeting all requirements is cumbersome and costly. "We have to run to multiple offices for approvals, hire architects to redraw building plans and spend lakhs on retrofitting. Most of us would rather operate quietly than go through the ruckus," said a PG owner in Sector 34, requesting anonymity. "A single window system might make the process easier and doable," added the owner of another unregistered PG at Sector 15. The original policy for registering PG accommodations was introduced in 2006 with 13 conditions. After the 2020 fire mishap, four more clauses were added to the policy, making the norms stricter. The amendments mandated the PGs to install sprinkler systems, exit signage, fire extinguishers and maintain dedicated water tanks. It is also mandatory for PG owners to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department before they can start operating legally. Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said, "All PGs that are illegally running their business and violating the norms laid out by the estate office are strictly being looked at by the sub-divisional magistrate's court." He added that inspections take place only when a complaint is filed. "I receive three to four complaints from the neighbours of these PGs per day," Yadav claimed....