Lift and Escalator Licences in Gujarat: What Is Claimed, What the Law Says and How to Check Your Lift

On 20 October 2026 the Gujarati news channel Zee 24 Kalak put out an Instagram reel with a caption that says thousands of lifts in Gujarat are running without a licence, that questions are being asked in Ahmedabad about lift and escalator safety, and asks whether the system is waiting for a big accident. That is a claim, not a finding. We searched in English, Gujarati and Hindi and could not find an official figure, a department statement or a second news report that backs the number. What we can do is set out what the Gujarat law and the state’s own electrical inspectorate pages say, so that you can check your own lift. Last checked: 21 October 2026.

In short

• The claim: a caption on a Zee 24 Kalak Instagram reel dated 20 October 2026 says thousands of lifts in Gujarat run without a licence. We read the caption only. We did not watch the reel, so we do not know who is quoted or what numbers, if any, are given.
• What is confirmed: nothing about the number. No official count, no department statement and no other news report turned up in our searches. Treat “thousands” as unconfirmed.
• What the law says: under the Gujarat Lifts and Escalators Act, 2000, a lift or escalator needs a licence from the Chief Inspector, a licence has to be renewed, and the lift has to be maintained by a person the state has authorised.
• What you can do: look at the licence and the inspection certificate in your own lift, ask your society for the maintenance contract, and write to the electrical inspector’s office if the papers are missing.

What the report says, and what we could not confirm

The caption, as we read it on the reel’s page, says thousands of lifts in Gujarat are running without a licence, that the Ahmedabad administration faces many questions, that lift and escalator safety in Ahmedabad is in doubt, and asks whether officials are waiting for a major accident. The hashtags are Ahmedabad, lift safety, elevator safety and Gujarat. That is all the page showed us.

Our searches turned up no official figure for unrenewed or unlicensed lifts in Gujarat, and nothing from the Chief Electrical Inspector’s office. The inspectorate’s own pages give no count either. So we cannot say how many lifts are affected, whether the number is thousands or fewer, or whether it counts lifts with no licence at all or lifts whose licence has lapsed. If the channel or the department publishes figures, we will update this page.

What the Gujarat law and the state pages say

The law is the Gujarat Lifts and Escalators Act, 2000, with rules made under it in 2001. The Chief Electrical Inspector, who sits in the state’s Energy and Petrochemicals Department, is the licensing authority, and the department publishes a lift page with the practical steps. What we could read directly:

• Licence to operate. An owner who has permission to install a lift or escalator must apply for a licence to operate it within one month of finishing the erection (Section 4(1)). The Chief Inspector grants it if an inspector reports that the installation meets the Act and rules. A lift or escalator may not be run without a valid licence.
• Validity. Here the official sources do not agree. The Act, as quoted to us, and the department’s Gujarati page say three years. The department’s English FAQ says five years from the date of issue. We could not tell which is current, so go by the validity date printed on your own licence, and ask the inspectorate if it looks odd.
• Renewal. The renewal application has to reach the Chief Inspector not less than thirty days before the licence expires. The department lists the original licence, a fee challan of Rs 1,500, a report under Section 16 of the Act and a form signed by the agency that maintains the lift as the papers needed.
• Fees listed by the department. A new operating licence costs Rs 1,500 for a lift up to five floors and Rs 2,000 above five floors. For an escalator the department’s Gujarati page lists Rs 10,000.
• Maintenance by an authorised person. The FAQ says the lift must be maintained by a person authorised under Rule 11 of the Gujarat Lifts and Escalators Rules, 2001. The department publishes lists of authorised agencies for erection, maintenance, and inspection and testing.

What we could not verify: the penalty for running a lift without a licence, how often a lift must be inspected, and the duty to report an accident. The full Act PDF on India Code refused to open for us, and neither the department’s English FAQ nor its Gujarati lift page describes a periodic inspection schedule or accident reporting. Do not rely on a fine amount or an inspection interval you may see quoted online without checking the Act and the Rules.

Standards, in plain terms

Lifts in Indian buildings are built and tested to the Bureau of Indian Standards series IS 14665, and the National Building Code 2016 deals with lifts and, in Part 4, with fire lifts for tall buildings. We could not read the code text itself, only secondary summaries that disagree on the height at which a fire lift becomes mandatory, so we give no figure. For a building you own or manage, ask your fire consultant or the fire department what applies to it. BIS has a short official video on the lift and escalator standards, listed under Videos. Our guide to NBC 2016 and high-rise fire safety covers the fire side.

What owners and housing societies should have

• A valid operating licence for every lift and escalator, kept where it can be seen, with the renewal date noted well ahead. Renewal is due thirty days before expiry, not after.
• A maintenance contract with an agency on the state’s authorised list, and a log book in which each visit is written down.
• A working alarm and a way to speak to someone from inside the car, and the society office number displayed there.
• Emergency lighting inside the car and on the landings.
• For tall buildings, a fire lift and power backup, as the building’s fire approval requires. Ordinary lifts are not for use in a fire.

The last four points are our own checklist, put together from the licence and maintenance rules above and from manufacturer guidance. They are not a quotation from the Gujarat Act.

A checklist you can use today

• Is there a licence or inspection certificate in the car or at the lobby, and is the date on it still valid? A missing or old certificate is a reason to ask, not proof that the lift is unsafe.
• When was it last serviced? Ask the society secretary or the maintenance agency to show the log.
• Press the alarm. Does it ring, and does anyone answer? Test the intercom if there is one.
• Do the doors open and close smoothly and stop when something is in the way? Doors that slam or jerk need attention.
• Does the car stop level with the floor? A step up or down is a warning sign.
• Is the car light on, and is there an emergency light? Look for a displayed capacity and do not overload.
• Never step into a lift unless you can see the car. If a landing door opens and there is no car behind it, stay out and tell the office.

Why the last point matters is clear from a case in Bhopal. On 6 January 2026 an elderly man fell into an empty lift shaft in a housing society in the Misrod area. Police said he stepped in when the door opened and the car was not there. His body was found on 16 January. His family says the lift was out of order and that complaints were ignored, and police said they were questioning the society’s maintenance team. That is an allegation under investigation, not a finding. Lifts also turn up in our fire cases: the Pali factory fire in Rajasthan began, according to early local reports, with a suspected short circuit in a lift. The cause is still under investigation.

If you are stuck in a lift

The manufacturer Otis gives the same simple advice that most guides do.

• Press the alarm and use the intercom or phone if there is one. If the doors will not open, try the door-open button once.
• Stay calm. The car has air and help will come. Do not try to force the doors or climb out.
• Call someone with your phone as well. Say the building, the lift and the floor. In an emergency call 112, or the fire brigade on 101.
• If there is a fire or smoke, our guide on how to survive a lift fire or power failure has the steps. In a fire, take the stairs and never the lift.

Keep a hand on your children and keep them away from the doors. Do not try to stop a closing door with your hand or foot.

How to report a lift without a licence in Gujarat

Start with your housing society or building owner and ask to see the licence and the maintenance log. If they cannot show them, you can write to the Electrical Inspector’s office. The Chief Electrical Inspector’s contact page lists the Lift and Escalators line at Gandhinagar on 079-23256648, and an Electrical Inspector’s office in Ahmedabad (Bahumali Bhavan, Ahmedabad-1) on 079-25506987, email ei-ced-ahd@gujarat.gov.in. The same page lists technical online support at help-ceiced@gujarat.gov.in. These are from the department’s contact page as we read it on 21 October 2026; check the page before you call. We did not find a dedicated public complaint procedure for lifts on the department’s pages, so write down the building’s name, address and the lift number and send your complaint in writing. For a lift that is dangerous right now, call 112.

Children and escalators

• Hold a young child’s hand firmly. Do not let children sit, play or lean on the steps or the sides.
• Tie shoelaces and keep loose clothes, dupattas and bags clear of the steps and the edges. Soft shoes such as clogs and slides are the ones most likely to get caught, according to the US consumer safety regulator.
• Stand in the middle of a step, face forward and hold the handrail. Step off at the end without stopping.
• Keep strollers, trolleys and carts off the escalator. Use the lift.
• Find the emergency stop buttons at the top and bottom before you need them.

Emergency numbers

112 is the national emergency number. 101 is the fire brigade and 108 is an ambulance, though which service answers on which number can vary from state to state. In Gujarat, give the full address, the floor and the lift number.

What is still not known

• How many lifts in Gujarat have no licence or an expired licence, and who made the figure in the reel.
• Whether the department has begun a drive or issued notices.
• The current licence validity, three years or five.
• The penalty for operating without a licence and the periodic inspection interval in the Gujarat Act and Rules.

We will update this page if the picture changes. Last checked: 21 October 2026.