Independence Day hope for stalled Kolkata high-rise projects
Times of India | 7 August 2026
Kolkata: Work is likely to resume at around 570 high-rise projects in and around Kolkata, where construction has been suspended since a building collapse in Taratala one-and-a-half months ago, around Independence Day, sources in the govt said after two interactions with major developers on Thursday.
While 150 projects have already received a nod for resumption of construction, around 187 are expected to get approval by early next week. Of the remaining projects, many will be approved by Aug 15 or shortly thereafter, the sources indicated.
Work on 724 high-rise projects has been suspended since June 25, a day after an under-construction warehouse collapsed near Taratala, killing 16 people. “Out of the 724 projects, 124 are yet to submit information based on which an audit was to be conducted. In 27 cases, the audit team has identified major deviations. Work on most of the remaining projects is likely to resume around Independence Day,” a govt source said.
The collapse had prompted the govt to set up ward-wise audit teams to check buildings under construction and clear them for work to resume.
While the govt had initially set a July 31 deadline for the audit, it was extended to Aug 15. With only 150 projects being cleared, the industry was worried about delays and rise in cost.
But interactions between the developers and CM Suvendu Adhikari in the afternoon and with urban development minister Agnimitra Paul and a high-level committee of the govt in the evening appear to have assuaged such concerns.
Paul also accompanied CM Adhikari in the afternoon meeting with Credai members, which was attended by industry minister Tapas Roy and chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, too. The CM said the govt was committed to ensuring the participation of the real estate industry in the state’s development.
Adhikari urged Credai, which represents nearly 700 developers in the state, to publicly distance itself from projects that violated sanctioned plans so people did not buy flats in them. Credai will hold a news conference to sensitise people about the hazards of buying units in such projects. “The CM cited a couple of cases (of violation) in Baranagar and Howrah. In one of the cases, the builder had constructed seven storeys, instead of four. In another, the builder had constructed 20,000 sq ft, instead of 10,000 sq ft. The builders are not Credai members,” Credai’s Bengal president Sushil Mohta said.
Paul said notices would be served on the 27 projects where audit teams have found gross violation of sanctioned plans.
In the evening symposium attended by developers, architects, structural engineers, structural reviewers and geo-technical experts, Paul made it clear that deviations affecting structural stability of the building would not be tolerated.
Consultancy firm RITES has suggested that civic inspections, which now start from the plinth level, should be conducted from the foundation stage. It has also recommended third-party inspection to ensure soil and load tests are done diligently.
Welcoming the CM and the minister’s initiatives to help restart construction activity, Mohta said the move would benefit the sector’s supply chain and the large workforce dependent on it. Credai Kolkata president Apurva Salarpuria and past president Siddharth Pansari echoed him.
The real estate sector in Bengal attracts around Rs 20,000 crore in annual investment, contributes approximately Rs 7,000 crore to the exchequer and is the second-largest employment generator after agriculture, supporting nearly 50 lakh livelihoods.