Lucknow, Nov 2 (PTI) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary to constitute a High-Powered Committee (HPC) to ensure strict action against officers involved in issuing different licenses and NOCs to a city hotel where a fire claimed four lives in September. The bench said that the HPC would comprise two additional chief secretaries and the DGP. The bench further directed the HPC to consider the inquiry report of September 9, 2022 prepared by Commissioner of Police, Lucknow and Divisional Commissioner , Lucknow Zone in which it had found different regulatory authorities failing in discharge of their duty. A bench of justice Alok Mathur passed the order dismissing the petition filed by Chief Fire Officer Vijay Kumar Singh, who had challenged his suspension order. The bench declined to accept his plea that he had no role in granting fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the hotel, Levana Suites. "There is sufficient material as borne out from the inquiry report of September 9, 2022 to proceed against him, hence the writ petition is accordingly dismissed", observed the bench. In course of hearing of the petition, the bench said,"The report of September 9, 2022 discloses serious disturbing facts with regard to the functioning of the regulatory authorities which are given the task of ensuring the safety and security of the public at large and are expected to discharge their duties sincerely following the mandate of law. "The Development Authority tasked with the object of ensuring planned development and scrutinising and sanctioning of building maps is permitting rampant construction in total violation of the rules and norms as is evident from the report placed before this court. It is only when incidents like the present one occur where numerous lives are lost, then only their work and conduct is scrutinised", the bench said.The fire at the Levana Suites hotel in the posh Hazratganj area in the city in the month of September had claimed the lives of four guests and had left several others injured. PTI COR SAB CK