KOLKATA: When the roof of the 65th floor was cast at 42 Chowringhee (JN Road) earlier this month, it became the tallest building in India, pipping The Imperial in south Mumbai’s Tardeo. Overlooking the Maidan and the Hooghly river beyond, The 42 has reshaped Kolkata’s skyline, dwarfing buildings like Tata Centre, Chatterjee International and Everest House that had dominated the skyline for over five decades.“The construction of The 42 has been completed. At 268 metres, it is now the tallest building in India. It would have been the second-tallest had the additional four floors that were later sanctioned not been constructed,” pointed out A N Shroff of Alcove Realty, one of the three companies that formed a consortium to develop the ultra-premium residential projectThe next tallest in Kolkata is Urbana. At 167.6 metres, it is almost 100m short. Forum Amotsphere and Westin at 152m and 150m respectively, make up the list of buildings that are over 150m tall. Thereafter, it gets rather crowded with 13 buildings taller than 100m. They include South City, ITC Royal Bengal and Acropolis.The skyline behind Science City off EM Bypass is also changing dramatically with a cluster of three high profile projects — two residential and one commercial — in various stages of development.The Atmosphere, the 140-m highrise with a hanging deck between the twin towers that houses the club house, has already received the completion certificate from Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Initially planned till 36 levels, it was later raised to 38 levels (ground+37) after KMC allowed additional floor area to buildings being constructed on Metro rail corridors.“The structure is complete. Interior work is underway. Deya — the multi-level hanging club spread across 55,000 sq ft — is ready and scaffolding is being dismantled. The project should be complete in six weeks and the first resident is expected to move in around August,” said Rahul Saraf of Forum Projects.Another high-rise, Ideal Unique Centre — the city’s tallest commercial building — is nearing completion next door. It, too, is growing taller than proposed by four floors to 31. The height of the building is pegged to touch 167 metres when the six-storied crown adorns it. “The building with space to house 104 offices will be completed by March 2020,” said Nakul Himatsingka of Ideal Group.The third high-rise next to Atmosphere is Trump Tower, the 140-metre, 38-floor building branded after the American President Donald Trump. Of the 28 floors that will be constructed. 29 floors have already been cast. According to the developers, the building will be ready by 2021-2022.Less than 5km away along the Canal South Road in Beliaghata is Siddha Sky, a 35-storied complex comprising four towers, three of which are linked by a 162-metre terrace skywalk at a height of 113 metre from the ground.In one of the towers, the slab for the 28th floor has already been cast. Civil work on the other two towers will be completed this year and the skywalk will be visible next year,” said Sanjay Jain of Siddha Group. The project is pegged to be completed in phases over 2021-22.Harsh Patodia of Unimark Group, the national president elect of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India, said these new generation tall buildings and branded residences that cater to the aspirational class who want state of the art residences and work places are also redefining Kolkata’s skyline. “New age developments like these will impart an international and global favour to the city,” he added.