Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari suspends construction work till July 31, orders audit of all ongoing projects

In a statement, the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority said it had granted a 30-year lease to M/s Behera Brothers with effect from August 1, 2024, for approximately 6,689 square metres of land to set up a multi-storied warehouse and cold storage facility.

“I have spoken with officials and engineers of the KMC. Initially, we found that a faulty building plan was sanctioned. This was before we came to power,” Adhikari said, referring to the TMC rule in the civic body.

After the BJP came to power in the state last month, TMC leader Firhad Hakim resigned from the post of Mayor. The government has appointed an IAS officer as KMC administrator.

“Maybe they paid some bribe money and got the plan sanctioned. I have sought a detailed report on the issue. Tomorrow, in the state Assembly, I will give a statement on action against such practices and compensation to the victims,” the chief minister added.

“Keeping such anomalies in mind, we have ordered that all under-construction buildings in the KMC area, especially commercial ones, will stop work till July 31,” he said.

According to Adhikari, teams from the Public Works Department, KMC, Civil Defence, and Fire Services will hold a special audit of under-construction projects. This will include verification of approved building plans and on-site inspections.

“There will be special verification of building plans and on-site inspection of all such buildings. We will also request the metro and port to allow us to do so in their areas,” the CM said.

The chief minister also praised the response of the Kolkata police, army, and other agencies involved in the rescue operation. “Kolkata Police, Fire Services, the Army, and NDRF responded very quickly. Rescue operations are continuing, and we hope everyone trapped can be brought out safely,” he said.

Adhikari said the Army was called in after the scale of the collapse became clear. “After speaking to the Chief Secretary around 2.30 pm and assessing the gravity of the situation, we requested the Army to step in. By 3.15 pm, Army teams had joined the rescue operation. They had equipment capable of cutting through iron beams and concrete,” he said.

He added that 20 ambulances had been deployed, and Kolkata police made a free channel to send the injured to SSKM hospital without delay.

The chief minister said that, based on his preliminary assessment, neither heavy rainfall nor soil conditions appeared to have caused the collapse. “I am not an engineer, but what I saw at the site suggests that the structure did not collapse because of yesterday’s rain or soft soil. Had that been the reason, the structure would have bent before collapsing,” he said.