Kolkata: As 10 buildings tilt, panel reconstituted to examine unauthorised construction

According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, there are over 30 such buildings within its municipal limits

Most of these properties are builder flats — low-rise residential buildings (Express Archives/Partha Paul)

After at least 10 buildings in and around Kolkata were found tilted in the last one month, the state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department has reconstituted the State Level Building Committee (SLBC) with the task of examining “minor unauthorised” construction and give technical opinion on such issues.

The committee will be headed by Additional Secretary of Urban development and Municipal Affairs Department, Arup Ratan Mukhopadhyay. Superintending Engineer, Planning Circle (South), Municipal Engineering Directorate will be the member-convenor of the committee. The other members of the committee will be Chief Engineer (North)/ Chief Engineer (South), Municipal Engineering Directorate as per the jurisdiction of case, Law Officer, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, Chief Town Planner, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department.

The other three members are Biplab Kanti Sengupta, former HoD of the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur; and architects Subir Kumar Basu and Anjan Ukil. “The SLBC shall examine the cases of minor unauthorised erection, or execution of any minor work without sanction under these rules, or minor deviation from the sanctioned plan or execution of any minor erection or work in contravention of any sanctioned plan under the provisions of the West Bengal Municipal (Building) Rules, 2007, as and when the Board of Councillors deem fit to refer such cases and also for reviewing the issue of regularization of such cases to the State Level Building Committee,” a notification issued by the government said.

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“The SLBC is also entrusted to give technical opinion on such other issues as may be referred to by the Department. It may invite Commissioner/Executive Officer and the Technical Officials of the concerned Urban Local Bodies in its meetings as and when the committee sits to examine the building plans of the respective Urban Local Body,” it added.

According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, there are over 30 such buildings within its municipal limits. Most of these properties are builder flats — low-rise residential buildings.

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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