Howrah Municipal Corporation has ordered the closure and sealing of 78 hotels and restaurants before Durga Puja after a month-long inspection found alleged irregularities involving fire safety, building permissions, trade licences, electricity compliance, property mutation and tax payments. The action could affect thousands of workers employed in the businesses, according to restaurant owners cited in the report.
The inspections were conducted by a special committee comprising officials from the fire and emergency services, CESC, the municipal licensing, health and building departments, and the police. The committee worked in three teams and inspected hotels and restaurants across five areas of Howrah: around Shalimar station, the Kona Expressway near Santragachi station, Howrah station, Howrah Maidan and Foreshore Road.
The municipal authorities said the inspections followed directions from the state government to review hotels and restaurants across districts after fires at two hotels, one in Tarapith in Birbhum and another in Kolkata’s New Market. The review was intended to assess whether establishments were complying with fire-safety requirements and other administrative rules.
According to a senior Howrah municipal official quoted in the report, inspectors examined whether buildings had undergone unauthorised changes, whether CESC requirements were being followed, and whether fire-safety systems were operational. They also checked property mutation, the manner in which property tax was being paid, approved building plans and valid trade licences.
The most widespread concern identified during the inspections was the condition of fire-safety equipment. The municipality said that in several establishments, fire-prevention systems existed only nominally and were not functional. Officials warned that a fire in such premises could produce consequences similar to those seen in the Tarapith and New Market incidents.
The inspection has also brought attention to the conversion of residential buildings into hotels and restaurants, particularly around Santragachi station. A municipal official said several establishments had allegedly expanded beyond their approved building plans, including cases where permission had been granted for two floors but construction had reached four floors. The report identified the areas around Howrah station, Foreshore Road and Howrah Maidan as having a high number of such allegedly unauthorised hotels.
The action raises questions about how establishments with multiple regulatory violations continued operating for extended periods. A municipal official attributed the delay to the absence of coordination between the departments responsible for identifying irregularities. The official said the departments had now acted together following the state government’s direction.
Restaurant owners have urged the municipality to defer the closures until after Durga Puja, arguing that immediate action would cause substantial business losses and leave many workers unemployed during the festival season. The municipality, however, has said that it has received instructions to act before the puja celebrations.
The report does not specify the individual establishments named for closure, the proposed sealing schedule or whether operators will be given an opportunity to rectify violations. The immediate next step is the implementation of the municipal action against the 78 hotels and restaurants before Durga Puja.
