Whether you may charge an EV in a basement, podium or puzzle-parking bay depends on which document governs your building, and the texts disagree. Mumbai's Fire Brigade advisory of 18 October 2022 says points "can be permitted" only in the first basement with ramps, the ground floor and the first podium or parking floor, never in stacked or automated parking. Maharashtra's 2024 Fire Service circular says no point "shall be allowed" in automated, puzzle or "basement car parking", but in its automated-parking section, so ordinary basements are unsettled. Haryana's June 2026 building-code note says basement and stilt spots "may be provided", certified by the Fire Department. None of this is legal advice.
The four texts, level by level
| Parking level | Mumbai FB/H/1035 | Maharashtra MFS/51/2024/1140 | Electrical Inspector CEI/Tech/283/2022 | Haryana code 6.3(3)(viii)(d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground floor | Named in General 1 | Not addressed | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| Stilt | Not named in General 1 | Not addressed | Not addressed | "may be provided"; Fire Department certifies |
| First podium or parking floor | Named in General 1 | Not addressed | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| Second podium and above | Not named; the list ends "only" | Not addressed | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| First basement with ramps | Named in General 1; ventilation under General 7 | Unsettled, see below | Not addressed | "may be provided"; Fire Department certifies |
| Second basement and below | Not named | Unsettled | Not addressed | Says "basement", no level named |
| Stack (car stacker) | Barred by General 2 | Not in the page 15 bar; page 15 discourages charging in mechanized parking; page 3: "ventilated area" | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| Puzzle or automated tower | Automated systems and towers barred by General 2; puzzle not named | Barred on page 15; Annexure A 1(i) for automated facilities | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| Multistorey car-park roof deck | Not named in General 1 | Not addressed | Item 5: "consideration should be given" | Not addressed |
"Not addressed" means the text is silent, and silence is not permission. A row reports what a document says, never that a level is safe or permitted for you; that is for your society's fire consultant, the Chief Fire Officer and a licensed electrician who has inspected the bay. The physical checks are in our basement parking checks.
Mumbai: the Fire Brigade's 2022 advisory
The Mumbai Fire Brigade's "Fire safety Advisory/Guidelines for EV charging stations in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation limits", No. FB/H/1035, is dated 18/10/2022 by hand and signed by the Chief Fire Officer (mcgm.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026). Do not confuse it with the Electrical Inspector's advisory of 10 October 2022.
On page 2, General item 1 addresses location: "EV charging stations/points can be permitted in the car parking areas in the first basement with ramps, ground floor & first podium level/First level car parking floor only, from a Fire risk point of view." Item 2: "EV charging stations/points facility shall not be permitted in any kind of Automated mechanized Car parking system/stacked car parking/Car Parking Towers."
The list ends in "only", so a second basement or podium is not on it. Stilt parking is not named; whether your stilt counts as the "ground floor" is for the Fire Brigade to answer. Item 7 requires ventilation "as per norms" where points are permitted "at the 1st level basement with a ramp", and notes on page 5 say the remarks "are offered from a fire risk point of view only" and the department "reserves the right to change" them.
The rest of Maharashtra: the 2024 Fire Service circular
The Directorate of Maharashtra Fire Service issued Circular No. MFS/51/2024/1140 on 18.07.2024, "Guidelines for Fire Safety of Parking Structures Provided as per the Unified Development Control & Promotion Regulations-2020 & Maharashtra Fire Prevention & Life Safety Measures Act, 2006" (mahafireservice.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026). It is "for information and implementation" and copied to "All Chief Fire Officers, Municipal Corporations & Special Planning Authorities in Maharashtra". Two sentences address where charging may go:
- Annexure A, item (i) under "1. GENERAL", the section for all parking structures: "Charging of electrical vehicles shall not be provided in basement / on upper levels of automated car parking facility."
- Page 15, under "ELECTRIC VEHICLES" in section 4, "FULLY AUTOMATED MECHANIZED CAR PARKING": "But as of now, no Electric Vehicle charging point/station shall be allowed in the Automated car parking tower, Puzzle car parking and basement car parking."
Read narrowly, both concern mechanised parking: the first ends "of automated car parking facility", and the second sits in the automated-parking section. Read broadly, the first is in the general section, and the second lists "basement car parking" as its own item. Section 5, "BASEMENTS", does not mention EV charging. Whether an ordinary basement is covered is unsettled. The page 3 "ventilated area" sentence is about cars "accommodated in a car stacker system", not basements.
So in Mumbai the 2022 advisory names the "first basement with ramps", while the 2024 circular says no point "shall be allowed" in "basement car parking". Whether it reaches a Mumbai building is unresolved; which text governs yours is for the Chief Fire Officer to state in writing.
The Chief Electrical Inspector's advisory: siting conditions
Maharashtra's Chief Electrical Inspector issued the "Safety Advisory/ Standard Operating Procedure for EV Charging Stations (EVCS) across Maharashtra", Outward No. CEI/Tech/283/2022, stamped 10 OCT 2022 (ceimah.in; last verified 15 October 2026). It names no parking level as permitted or barred. Four items bear on siting at any level:
- Item 5: in multistorey car parks, "consideration should be given to locating these in the open air at roof deck level".
- Item 6: any socket-outlet "at least 800 millimeters above the Highest Flood level". For basements, see Check 3.
- Item 7: the vehicle connection "within five meter from the electric vehicle charging point".
- Item 12: where separation is not practicable, no charging "within 10m of any combustible materials" or "within 15m of hazardous installations such as transformers".
Item 2 requires a "Licensed Electrical Contractor approved by the state government of Maharashtra"; the circuit, protective devices, cable route and earthing must be specified and certified by a licensed electrician. Both the Mumbai and Electrical Inspector's advisories cite Ministry of Power guidelines of 14 January 2022; the Ministry's 17 September 2024 guidelines "shall supersede all the previous versions" (beeindia.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026).
Haryana: the June 2026 building-code note
Haryana's Town and Country Planning Department substituted the note at Code 6.3(3)(viii)(d) of the Haryana Building Code, 2017 by Memo No. MISC-2339(ULB)-Loose/2026/7/15/2026-2TCP dated 05.06.2026 (tcpharyana.gov.in; last verified 15 October 2026). Its addressees include the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran and the Director of Urban Local Bodies.
On location it says: "The Electric Charging Spots may be provided in basement and/or stilt floors subject to adherence to suitable fire safety and electrical safety norms, to be certified by Fire Department." For existing buildings, where an allottee wants charging in "his allocated parking space", it "may be allowed subject to adherence to suitable electrical safety and fire safety norms, to be certified by the Fire Department as well as concerned DISCOM."
"May be allowed" is permissive: the note does not say who allows it, or whether the society's consent is also needed. Nor does the note define "suitable" norms: its endorsement asks the Director General, Fire and Emergency Services, "to formulate comprehensive guidelines", and we found none published as of 15 October 2026.
Which text governs your building: two steps
- Identify the document. Find who approved your building's plans, and under what: Greater Mumbai's municipal corporation, a planning authority under the UDCPR-2020, or a Haryana body under the Haryana Building Code, 2017. The sanctioned plans should say.
- Get the Chief Fire Officer's position in writing. Name that document and the exact level (first basement with ramp, stilt, second podium, puzzle), and ask whether a point may go there, on what conditions. In Mumbai, ask how the advisory and the circular each apply.
Do both before anyone pays for wiring. Site checks are in the basement guide and the electrician's site assessment, society planning in EV fire-safety planning. If your level is ruled out, see the fixed-bay pattern for stack and puzzle parking.
Common questions
Does the Maharashtra Fire Service circular ban all basement EV charging?
Not clearly. Its two relevant sentences, one in the general section and one in the automated-parking section, can each be read as limited to mechanised parking or as reaching every basement. Which is right is unsettled; ask your Chief Fire Officer in writing.
My building is in Mumbai: can I install a charger on the second podium level?
The Mumbai advisory does not name it: its list stops at the "first podium level/First level car parking floor only". Anything beyond that is the Fire Brigade's decision, and you want it in writing.
Does the Mumbai advisory cover a private point in my own slot, or only charging stations?
Both. Its general items, level list included, cover "stations/points". Section I, "Private charging stations/points", adds that "Slow/ Moderate Power charging stations/points shall be allowed only in the parking areas in the building", and that "It is recommended to provide EV charging points/stations in open/semi open/ non critical area."
In a Gurugram society, who has to certify a charger in an existing building's basement?
Where the Haryana Building Code, 2017 governs and the point is in an allottee's "allocated parking space", the 05.06.2026 note names two: "the Fire Department as well as concerned DISCOM". It does not say what standard they certify against.
Do any of these rules apply if I don't live in Maharashtra or Haryana?
No. Each reaches, at most, its own city or state. Elsewhere, start with your building's fire no-objection certificate and your local fire authority. Whether your society may refuse is a separate question: see what is actually settled.