3,000 ‘red-zone’ bldgs on KMC watchlist

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) buildings department has identified 3,000 buildings in ‘red zones' across six city boroughs that have grossly violated the civic body's construction rules.Though an unofficial nomenclature, ‘red zones' refer to areas or neighbourhoods where unauthorised constructions abound. These include the Tiljala-Topsia, Ekbalpore-Kidderpore, Garden Reach-Metiabruz and Burrabazar-Chitpore belts and areas in colonies and neighbourhoods off Bypass.At the centre is the Tiljala-Topsia belt, which civic officials describe as the city's worst compliance zone. KMC officials said the entire Tiljala-Topsia stretch fell within the ‘red-zone' category. Around 1,000 buildings in the belt alone are awaiting demolition, while officials estimate that nearly 70% of the structures that have come up there in the past two decades were built without approval.Officials say entire apartment blocks have come up without approval, often in dense clusters where enforcement is weak and resistance is strong. The belt covering Topsia, Tiljala, Chowbagha and adjoining pockets off Bypass is now seen within the civic system as an area where illegal construction is widespread, not occasional.What makes these zones especially hard to manage is the erosion of routine enforcement. KMC officials say borough-level building dept staff often hesitate to enter these localities because of threats, intimidation and risk of confrontation. This pattern is not limited to Tiljala-Topsia. Officials in Burrabazar-Rabindra Sarani and other belts have also described access as highly challenging. In Garden Reach and Metiabruz, where illegal construction has repeatedly drawn scrutiny, the problem is similarly tied to local influence, weak oversight and delayed intervention. Ekbalpore also figures in this wider geography of concern, as part of a cluster of neighbourhoods where unauthorised vertical growth has outpaced civic control.The consequences have already been seen. The Garden Reach building collapse in March 2024, in which nine people died, exposed the risks of allowing unauthorised and structurally suspect buildings to spread. After the collapse, the civic body moved to tighten vigilance. Senior officials directed borough engineers to form teams and conduct regular raids, with special focus on Garden Reach-Metiabruz and Tiljala-Topsia. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari named some of these areas and asked CESC and KMC to conduct an audit and disconnect power and water supply to illegal buildings.