Kolkata: The state is planning to impose a huge penalty for violations of approved plans in commercial buildings and high-rises. Following a review meeting of the Taratala warehouse collapse probe panel attended by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna on Monday, state urban development & municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul announced that property owners will be allowed to rectify minor structural deviations or legal anomalies in existing buildings until March 31, 2027. Thereafter, no leniency or modification window will be permitted for unauthorised structures.“We will hold a cut-off date of March 31, 2027, on matters of irregularities or deviations of building construction. But if there are major deviation or violation remain after that, we will impose a very hefty penalty for commercial buildings and the normal penalty for residential houses. In case the safety measures cannot be assured, the building will be demolished,” Paul said.She said that plans are on to engage third-party agencies who will scrutinise each stage of construction.“In the aftermath of the Taratala incident, it has been noticed that there has been a lack of proper supervision and monitoring of construction activities in many cases. The plan is to engage national-level agencies who will keep watch on each stage of a building’s construction. If it is a multi-storied building, the agency will scrutinise and give the go-ahead for the next floor,” the minister said.The civic authorities are also preparing to tighten norms for commercial buildings to address traffic congestion and illegal parking in the city.“In many cases, employees are parking their vehicles on the pavements as there is no space on the company premises. We will work on a plan to see that commercial buildings have adequate space for parking on the premises,” the minister added.
