CREDAI West Bengal welcomed the state government's reform push and the proposed standard operating procedure for building safety and regulatory compliance, and said scrutiny of 585 of 706 projects identified for a mandatory audit had been completed. The audit followed the collapse of a warehouse at Taratala and led to a stop work order on covered projects pending scrutiny. The technical committee overseeing the exercise had held eight meetings and the data was current as of last Saturday. Of the 706 projects, 595 had submitted applications and 115 were yet to apply; 204 projects had received clearance, 89 were given conditional approval and 26 were found to have major violations. The association sought an eight-month force majeure extension, citing disruptions from the war, the special inspection regime, elections and the stop work period imposed for the audit. It asked that time bound undertakings be permitted for minor deviations to enable construction to resume while ensuring full compliance. CREDAI clarified that the 27 illegal projects flagged during the special audit did not involve any of its members and said it did not admit non compliant builders, while supporting strict action against illegal and unauthorised construction. Its delegation met the chief minister, the urban development and industries ministers and senior officials at a government convened conference in Kolkata on August six to discuss implementation and approvals. The association reiterated that compliance with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was non negotiable and advised homebuyers to verify developers' credentials and purchase only properties registered under the regime. The body said the sector attracts more than Rs 200 billion (Rs 200 bn) in annual investment in West Bengal, contributes around Rs 75 billion (Rs 75 bn) to the state exchequer and supports the livelihoods of about six million (6 mn) people, making it the state's second largest employer after agriculture. It said the government's approach would help restart construction activity and benefit the supply chain and workforce dependent on the sector. The report drew on a PTI dispatch and CREDAI submissions to officials.