West Bengal Lifts And Escalators Act, 1955
No: 5 Dated: Mar, 28 1955
THE WEST BENGAL LIFTS AND ESCALATORS ACT, 1955
West Bengal Act V of 1955
An Act to provide for the regulation of the installation, maintenance and safe working of lifts and escalators in West Bengal and of all machinery and apparatus pertaining to such lifts and escalators.
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Lifts and Escalators Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any lift or escalator in any mine within the meaning of the Mines Act, 1952, or to any lift or escalator to which the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, apply.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "contract load" means the load specified in the maker's specification of a lift or an escalator as being the maximum load which the lift or the escalator is capable of carrying;
(b) "contract speed" means the speed specified in the maker's specification of a lift or an escalator as being the maximum speed which the lift or the escalator is capable of attaining in the up direction with contract load;
(c) "counterweight" means the weight or series of weights to counterbalance the weight of a lift car and part of the load;
(d) "escalator" means a moving inclined continuos stairway or runway used for raising and lowering passengers, which is worked by power;
(e) "lift" means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a lift car which is designed to move in guides in a substantially vertical direction and is worked by power;
(f) "lift car" includes the platform, car frame and the enclosure of a lift car;
(g) "lift installation" used in relation to a lift includes the lift (that is to say the mechanism and the lift car), the lift well, the lift well enclosure and all ropes, cables, wires and plant directly connected with the operation of the lift;
(h) "lift well" means the unobstructed space provided for the movement of a lift car and any counterweight and includes the pit and the space for top clearance for the lift car and the counterweight;
(i) "lift well enclosure" includes any permanent substantial structure which separates a lift well either wholly or in part from its surroundings;
(j) "pit" means the space in a lift well below the level of the lowest lift landing;
(k) "pit depth" means the vertical distance between the level of the lowest lift landing and the bottom of pit;
(l) "power" means energy generated by electricity, water, oil, gas, steam or any combination of them;
(m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under
(n) "suspension ropes" means the ropes by which a lift car and counterweight are suspended;
(o) "top clearance" means-
(i) for a lift car, - the distance which the lift car floor can travel above the level of the highest lift landing without any part of the lift car or its attachments coming into contact with overhead structure or other obstruction,
(ii) for counterweight, - the distance between any part of the counterweight assembly and the nearest part of the overhead structure or any other obstruction when the lift car floor is levelled with the lowest lift landing.
3. Application for permission to erect lift. - The owner of any premises intending to install a lift in such premises shall make an application to such officer as the State Government may authorise in this behalf, for [permission to install such lift]. The application shall specify-
(a) the type of the lift,
(b) the contract speed of the lift,
(c) the contract load of the lift in [kilograms],
(d) the maximum number of persons which the lift can carry,
(e) the total weight of the lift car including the contract load,
(f) the weight of the counterweight,
(g) the number, description, weight and size of the suspension ropes,
(h) the pit depth,
(i) such other details of construction as may be prescribed including in particular details regarding construction of the overhead arrangement and the weight and size of the beams,
(j) such other particulars as may be prescribed.
Explanation.—In this Act, the expression, "owner of any premises" shall be deemed to include a tenant of the whole or part of such premises, who has obtained permission in writing from the owner of the premises to install a lift.