Addressing the Assembly on Thursday, Adhikari said the sanctioned building plan carried the signature of former Kolkata mayor and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim.
“This is the result of the sins you committed. By allowing such structures in exchange for money, you have turned the city of joy and greater Kolkata into a city of death,” he said, escalating his attack on the erstwhile ruling party.
Promising strict action against everyone found responsible for the tragedy, Adhikari said, “No one will be spared.”
The chief minister informed the House that nine people died and 20 others were injured in the collapse. However, hospital sources later confirmed that two injured workers succumbed on Thursday morning, taking the death toll to 11.
A state government official said eight of the deceased have been identified so far.
Announcing relief measures, Adhikari said the families of each deceased worker would receive Rs 10 lakh in compensation, while those injured would be given Rs one lakh.Of the injured, one is in critical condition, and four are in serious condition, he added.
The chief minister said five people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.
They are Gulzar Hossain, a supervisor of contractor Asgar; iron structure fabricator Kamal Samanta; land lessee Sambhunath Behera; labour supplier-cum-trimex contractor Dibakar Bhandari; and Abdul Hamid, who allegedly brokered the sanctioned plan with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
Efforts are underway to trace contractor Asgar, Adhikari told the Assembly.
According to the chief minister, preliminary findings indicate that the warehouse was approved despite structural deficiencies and a faulty design.
He said the building plan was sanctioned on January 17, 2026, when the TMC was in power.
“Those found guilty in the incident will face criminal prosecution and have their properties attached to extract compensation,” Adhikari said. “There will be zero tolerance.”
Referring to a KMC fact-finding report into the collapse of the warehouse that was under construction, the chief minister named officials who allegedly failed to discharge their responsibilities.
“It is found that Sub-Assistant Engineer Aminur Sheikh, Assistant Engineer Nirmalendu Sardar and Executive Engineer Ranjan Das did not discharge their duties in respect of the instant premises,” said the chief minister, quoting the report.
He further alleged that no building plan submitted to the KMC could be approved without the clearance of a person named Kali. “This Kali is constructing the new Trinamool Bhavan for Rs 200 crore,” he claimed in the House.
The collapse has reignited concerns about construction safety and regulatory oversight in Kolkata.
Drawing parallels with previous disasters, Adhikari said the previous government had failed to learn lessons from the 2024 building collapse in Garden Reach, where 14 people lost their lives.
“In Garden Reach, Muslim workers from Murshidabad district, who vote for Mamata Banerjee, died; not a single person could be rescued,” he said, accusing the previous regime of “never involving the Army and NDRF in rescue operations”.
An FIR has been registered in connection with the Taratala collapse, and police are taking all necessary steps, the chief minister said.
A day earlier, Adhikari visited the accident site and met the injured at SSKM Hospital. He later said preliminary inputs from KMC engineers pointed to defects in the approved building plan.
“This government will not allow any compromise with people’s lives,” he had said.
Around Wednesday noon, the roof of the warehouse on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge suddenly collapsed. Several workers were present at the site when the incident occurred.
Adhikari informed the Assembly that five bodies had been handed over to their families after post-mortem, while autopsies of the remaining victims were underway.
He also assured the House that the government would bear the cost of treatment for all those injured.
The chief minister praised the rescue efforts carried out by the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and other agencies. He said 215 Army personnel were deployed at the site and credited them with saving lives.
The previous TMC government had failed to equip the state to deal with such exigencies, he alleged.
“There is no modern equipment or professional team to deal with such emergencies,” he said. “It is only because of the 215 Army personnel, especially from the Bihar Regiment, who were pressed into the rescue operation with modern equipment that 20 people could be rescued alive.”
He also lauded the four NDRF teams that worked around the clock at the site, describing them as “angels of God.”
Following the tragedy, Adhikari announced a four-week suspension of all non-essential construction activity across the KMC area as well as in Rajarhat-New Town, Maheshtala, Budge Budge, Pujali, Bishnupur Rural in Sonarpur, and Baruipur in the South 24 Parganas district.
“All sanctioned plans will be audited. A committee will be formed for this, which will be headed by additional chief secretary Rajesh Pandey,” he said.
The panel will include senior officials from the state administration, Kolkata Police, KMC, the Labour Department, Fire and Emergency Services, RITES, IRCON and IIT Kharagpur.
Announcing a comprehensive review of construction approvals, the Adhikari said, “All building plans the corrupt TMC sanctioned by taking cut-money and through brokers to turn Kolkata into a death house will be audited. No further construction work will be allowed till that task is completed.”
Taking a swipe at former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari said that unlike the previous regime, the BJP government does not bypass the Assembly while making major announcements when the House is in session.
