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.
“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.