West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari ordered a review of construction plans approved in Kolkata before the BJP came to power in May, even as municipal authorities suspended all construction work until July 31 after an under-construction warehouse in the city’s Taratala industrial area collapsed on Wednesday, killing eight people and injuring 20 others.
Rescue and search operations continued at the site of the collapse. One of the officials said: “The operation continued throughout the night and is still ongoing. Rescuers used ground-penetrating radar to locate the victims trapped under the rubble. Sniffer dogs were also deployed.”
There are still fears that some people may be trapped under the rubble. “Army, NDRF [National Disaster Response Force]Police, civil defense and firefighters are working at the site.”
Police said they arrested five suspects in connection with the collapse. The accused have been booked under Sections 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act (culpable homicide not amounting to culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to culpable homicide), and 3(5) (common intention).
Adhikari said initial reports by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) indicated that the plan to build the depot was flawed and that the civic body previously controlled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may have approved it in exchange for money.
The KMC Board of Directors was dissolved on June 8. Smita Pandey was appointed KMC director after TMC’s Firhad Hakim resigned from the mayor’s post following his party’s defeat to the BJP in the assembly poll.
Adhikari said he directed the KMC to review all construction plans approved by the previous civic body, especially those for commercial buildings and those constructed after filling up wetlands. “The chief secretary will constitute a team comprising officers from the state public works department, civil defence, fire and emergency services, Kolkata Police and KMC. The team will look into the construction plans, site plan, visit the sites and submit a report,” Adhikari said.
Officials said the cleared projects could resume work from August 1.
In a notice, Pandey cited powers under the KMC Act, 1980, and directed developers, associations and individuals within the jurisdiction of KMC not to go ahead with construction work till July 31 or until further orders, if any, whichever is earlier, are issued to ensure public safety.
