Like other major Indian cities, Kolkata has well-defined building regulations. However, illegal construction continues to thrive—not due to a lack of rules but because of weak enforcement. Under the Indian Constitution, municipal corporations serve as the third tier of governance, responsible for ensuring compliance with urban laws.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), which has been under the control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the past 15 years, is tasked with regulating construction and maintaining civic infrastructure.

Despite its mandate, KMC has failed to curb illegal constructions. Rather than addressing the issue, the city’s mayor, Firhad Hakim has sought to shift blame onto the previous Left Front government. However, when asked to provide data on the number of illegal buildings constructed over the last 40 years, he failed to present any records, exposing the administration’s lack of accountability. Without such documentation, tackling the problems of unauthorized buildings, unsafe structures, and poor construction practices becomes impossible.

Kolkata recently witnessed an alarming situation where four buildings tilted in a single day—possibly setting a new benchmark for urban disasters. Like falling dominoes, one after another, reinforced concrete high-rises in this 345-year-old megacity have started leaning, revealing serious flaws in construction. While none of these structures are even a century old, their premature structural failures have raised significant concerns.

Rapid urbanization, driven by unregulated construction, has placed over six million residents at risk, forcing them to live in constant fear of building collapses. The situation worsened when a high-rise in Baghajatin, South Kolkata, collapsed in broad daylight, intensifying public anxiety. Most of these unstable buildings were found to be illegally constructed, highlighting a growing crisis in governance and urban planning.

TMC’s Fortersing of Illegal Construction

Preventing illegal construction is fundamentally an administrative responsibility. However, the sheer scale of unauthorized structures in Kolkata suggests a deep-rooted nexus between politicians, municipal officials, and real estate developers. Elected municipal representatives are expected to act as watchdogs, safeguarding citizens' rights and safety.

Instead, many corporation councillors and TMC strongmen have seemingly turned a blind eye, allowing illegal construction to flourish under their watch in exchange for hefty commissions, manipulating lawmakers and the police in the process.

The mayor’s recent statement that “a tilting building does not necessarily mean collapse” has only deepened public skepticism. Given that most of these unstable structures are unauthorized, his remarks raise suspicions—Is he downplaying the crisis to shield those responsible for illegal construction?

Illegal buildings are often constructed with substandard materials, weak foundations, and inadequate spacing between structures, all aimed at maximizing profit. Once a building begins to tilt, it signals severe structural distress that demands urgent intervention.

However, stabilizing such structures requires specialized engineering expertise and close coordination with municipal authorities to prevent further risks to surrounding buildings. The city’s failure to establish a protocol for repairing these unstable structures further compounds public concern.

A key function of any administration is to uphold the rule of law. When a ruling party prioritizes its own interests over governance, it erodes institutional accountability. The issue is not the absence of regulations but the selective enforcement of laws. In a service-oriented economy like West Bengal’s, where real estate plays a crucial role, political compromises with developers often come at the expense of public safety.

Kolkata’s subsoil has historically been unsuitable for high-rises due to its low bearing capacity. Unlike cities with solid bedrock foundations, Kolkata’s soft soil has long restricted vertical expansion. Yet, during the boom of unregulated urbanization, multi-story buildings have been erected without proper soil testing or adequate foundations, leading to the tilting crisis.

Illegal construction is not just an urban planning failure—it has severe environmental repercussions. Kolkata’s land is being altered at an alarming rate. Traditionally, land was classified based on its use—wetlands, marshy areas, forests, agricultural zones, and designated building areas. However, in recent years, promoters and developers have illegally filled wetlands and drainage channels to create space for unauthorized buildings.

Ironically, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advocates for water conservation, her party members have allegedly been involved in the illegal landfilling of water bodies and ponds.

Reports indicate that over 270 ponds in the Garden Reach-Metiaburuz area were filled between 2004 and 2022, choking the city’s natural drainage system. As a result, Kolkata’s ecological balance is rapidly deteriorating.

In the past two decades, Kolkata and its suburbs have witnessed a near doubling of built-up areas, while the city’s green cover has shrunk by 30% in the last ten years. Among major Indian cities, Ahmedabad has seen the steepest decline in green spaces (48%), with Kolkata ranking second.

The consequences of weak infrastructure are not limited to tilting buildings. Seismic studies have identified several areas in Kolkata as high-risk zones for earthquakes, including Newtown, Rajarhat, Mahishbathan, Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala, Park Street, and Shobhabazar. Unfortunately, these very areas are experiencing rampant high-rise construction, increasing the likelihood of building collapses in the event of even a moderate earthquake.

Given Kolkata’s fragile soil conditions, the city cannot afford unchecked construction without rigorous soil testing and proper engineering safeguards.

While municipal laws provide some exemptions for buildings in older residential colonies, high-rises must not be constructed without ensuring their structural stability.