Overview
- The state broadened the review after Friday's Taratala/Garden Reach warehouse roof collapse that killed about 15–16 workers and prompted an immediate safety drive.
- A high-level committee led by Additional Chief Secretary Rajesh Pandey and backed by technical teams from RITES and IIT Kharagpur will inspect permits, structural and fire-safety systems and classify sites for rejection, rectification or clearance.
- Construction of under-construction commercial projects and residential buildings of G+5 and above is suspended until July 31 unless a ward or individual site clears the audit and is allowed to restart earlier.
- The audit now covers Kolkata plus Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, Rajarhat-Newtown and selected Hooghly riverfront wards, with KMC borough teams preparing SOPs and conducting ward-level inspections.
- The committee has a 90-day mandate to complete a detailed fire-safety and lightning-arrester review and officials have flagged enforcement tools such as blacklisting planners and criminal action in cases of gross violations.