Kolkata witnessed unprecedented scenes on the evening of May 13 as bulldozers, backed by heavy police and paramilitary deployment, rolled into Tiljala to begin Bengal’s first major crackdown on illegal buildings and unauthorised factory units operating inside densely populated residential areas.
The action came less than 24 hours after a devastating fire inside an illegal factory operating from a multi-storey building on GJ Khan Road in Tiljala killed two labourers and injured at least three others, exposing the dangerous network of unlawful factories, unsafe structures and years of administrative negligence that have endangered lives across Kolkata.
Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government had directed power utility CESC to conduct an extensive audit of illegal buildings housing factories and permanently disconnect electricity supply to such establishments. He specifically identified Tiljala, Kasba, Mominpore and Ekbalpore as areas where illegal industrial activity had allegedly expanded unchecked for years.
Kolkata, West Bengal: Following the fire incident on Tuesday, demolition work commenced today on several interior sections of the building located on GJ Khan Road in Topsia. Systematic demolition operations were carried out as per the approved plan, while central security forces… pic.twitter.com/KmCYUXuvaz
— IANS (@ians_india) May 14, 2026
Within hours of the announcement, demolition squads equipped with bulldozers and sledgehammers reached Tiljala amid massive security arrangements involving Kolkata Police, CRPF and BSF personnel. Roads were barricaded, access was restricted and authorities began demolishing portions of the illegal structure linked to the deadly blaze.
The rapid response reflected the Bengal government’s declared “zero tolerance” approach towards illegal constructions and hazardous commercial units operating without approved plans, fire clearance or electricity safety mechanisms. Officials said the fire triggered an emergency review involving the MSME Department, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), police and municipal authorities, following which demolition orders were issued the very same day.
Addressing the media, Suvendu Adhikari said the factory was functioning entirely outside legal norms.
“The illegal workshop or factory did not have a building plan. Basic norms of fire and electricity were absent. Completely illegal,” he said while outlining the government’s action plan.
Authorities also ordered permanent power disconnection for unauthorised structures identified during the audit. CESC later confirmed that multiple inspection teams had been deployed to disconnect electricity supply to illegal factory buildings on safety grounds.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation was similarly instructed to halt water supply to illegal industrial units functioning from unauthorised premises. Officials indicated that the crackdown would now extend beyond Tiljala to other identified pockets where illegal construction and unsafe factory operations have allegedly flourished under years of weak enforcement.
The owners of the Tiljala factory, identified as Sheikh Nasir and Shamim Mohammad, were arrested on Wednesday morning in connection with the fire incident.
The crackdown has once again highlighted Kolkata’s deep-rooted problem of illegal constructions, many of which combine residential occupation with hazardous industrial activity in congested neighbourhoods. Civic officials themselves have acknowledged that thousands of such unauthorised structures exist across the city due to years of political patronage, lax monitoring and alleged collusion between builders, local officials and enforcement agencies.
The Tiljala tragedy is not an isolated case. In March 2024, 13 people lost their lives after an illegal under-construction building collapsed in Garden Reach. Earlier this year, another four-storey structure in Tollygunge’s Vidyasagar Colony dangerously tilted after its pillars weakened, with officials later admitting that no approved building plans existed for the property.
Following the latest tragedy, the officer in charge of Pragati Maidan fire station has also been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty, signalling that accountability measures may accompany the larger demolition and enforcement drive.
