Former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Thursday dismissed allegations linking him to the approval of the building plan for the under-construction warehouse that collapsed in Taratala, asserting that the mayor has no authority to sanction building plans.
The controversy erupted after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told the West Bengal Assembly that the sanctioned building plan bore the signature of Hakim, a senior TMC leader and former mayor.
Rejecting the charge, Hakim said he had no knowledge of the specific plan and stressed that such proposals are examined and cleared by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's Building department.
"I have no knowledge about this matter. Plans are approved by the building department. Unfortunately, I have not studied engineering, and such plans are not supposed to come to me for scrutiny. I have no idea about this particular plan. Files used to come to me only for final approval," he said.
Hakim maintained that even if his signature appeared on documents related to the project, it did not amount to technical approval.
"That is only a formality. The Building Committee comprises technical experts. The mayor has no authority in such matters. It is not within the mayor's jurisdiction to determine what is legal or illegal, nor to decide on notices issued by the Building department or demolition actions. The mayor also has no authority to sanction building plans," he said.
The former mayor said the information available to him suggested that the warehouse was not being constructed illegally, though he acknowledged possible lapses in supervision.
"There may have been a lack of monitoring, but responsibility for that cannot be placed on the mayor or the commissioner," he said.
Hakim also praised the state government's handling of the rescue operation following the collapse.
"The rescue work was very good. I have thanked the chief minister as well. The effort deserves appreciation," he said.
Taratala falls within Hakim's Kolkata Port Assembly constituency.
Recalling his response after learning about the incident, Hakim said he immediately headed to the site but was prevented from entering by the police.
"As soon as I received the news of the collapse, I went there. However, I could not enter the site as the police stopped me. After that, I went to SSKM Hospital," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
