Task force proposes ban on rooftop sale for biz gains
Times of India | 29 May 2025
12 Kolkata: The state task force, which was constituted after the recent Burrabazar fire, on Wednesday recommended that the Bengal govt and civic bodies across the state, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), shouldn't allow the sale of rooftop space for commercial gains. This was discussed at the task force's first meeting held at the KMC headquarters. Mayor and state urban development minister, Firhad Hakim, who attended the meeting, said another meeting on the fire safety issues would be held before a final report in this regard would be submitted to the state Cabinet within a month.The meeting was also attended by state power minister Aroop Biswas, disaster management minister Javed Khan, and panchayat minister Pradeep Majumdar. Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Verma, municipal commissioner Dhaval Jain, and director general of fire services Ranvir Kumar took note of what the task force members discussed at the meeting. "Rooftop should be treated as a fire refuge, and hence we will need to arrive at a decision not to allow the sale of rooftop space anywhere in the state for commercial gains," Hakim added. The task force members also agreed on conducting a third-party fire audit at the commercial and office buildings, including at the vulnerable ones in the city. The disaster management department will be asked to train its manpower to ensure the rescue of trapped persons in case of fire, said a member of the task force.Earlier, the KMC-constituted committee for the hearings on the fate of three rooftop restaurants in the city had said there was no room for leniency on fire safety norms. The KMC building rules specify that every terrace on the topmost storey of any building shall have a common access and not be subdivided, an official said. According to KMC building rules, under no circumstances a promoter is allowed to sell a terrace or give a nod to anyone to set up any infrastructure there without the approval of the civic body.