There is a 65 percent deficiency in the number of fire stations in the country, parliament was told on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha in a written statement that this was the assessment of a study conducted in 2011.
The minister, however, said the central government on its own did not maintain data about the shortage of fire fighting equipment, personnel and fire tenders in the country.
He said it was the primary responsibility of the municipal bodies and state governments to allocate sufficient resources for strengthening and equipping fire services.