Fragmented accountability: On the Taratala warehouse collapse in Kolkata

In light of the Taratala warehouse collapse in Kolkata on June 24, the ability to erect a structure based on a reportedly flawed plan is reminiscent of West Bengal’s infamous Syndicate Raj. As per the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, an empanelled architect and a structural engineer must certify building plans. The corruption ranges from local cartels, some backed by political heavyweights, allegedly forcing developers to buy subpar construction materials at premium prices to licensed surveyors allegedly delegating the task of signing off on designs not of their doing to unlicensed persons. Early reports of the warehouse collapse — which has now claimed 11 lives while several of the injured are critical — have already found that the contractor used corrugated tin sheets to support the much heavier load of the concrete roof cast — a shortcut cartels have been known to take to cut costs. Eyewitnesses described sudden shaking, a loud sound, and the rapid pancaking of floors; one account also reported visible shaking hours before the collapse following heavy rains. While West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has suspended all Trinamool Congress-era projects in and around Kolkata as part of a bid to eliminate corruption, migrant labourers will continue to bear the brunt of flawed construction approval and activities if the State does not rein in the informal subcontracting chain. This need is also informed by India expecting to have more migrant labourers with time as environmental degradation undermines many rural livelihoods.

Several structural failures such as this have displayed fragmented accountability, and given the tragic spate of similar ‘accidents’ around India over the last few years, the time has come to reckon with the fragmentation per se. At least some of these failures may have been the result of an anachronistic model of governance that has failed to keep up with the speed of modern construction and complexities in the private sector. An accountability gap thus arises due to land ownership, especially if it involves Centre-State uncertainties, as at Taratala, and/or due to legal systems catering to a paradigm in which the State was the primary builder. Persistent loopholes in existing licensing procedures may also allow the ultimate owners of capital to stay away from ‘dirty work’ at the construction site, allow impugned engineers to claim ignorance of day-to-day lapses, and give way to jurisdictional ping-pong. At Taratala, reports indicated there were no records of who was on site when the structure collapsed, forcing authorities to rely on accounts from residents and family members, even as blame centred on the local contractor. While he is likely liable, he is only one rung of the ladder.