Wayanad landslides: Kerala CM to meet sponsors of model township projects for survivors on January 1

Kerala Revenue Minister announces meeting by Chief Minister for landslide rehabilitation funding, legal hurdles cleared for model townships in Wayanad.

Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan on Friday (December 27, 2024) said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will, on January 1 (New Year’s Day), hold a meeting of benefactors who have expressed willingness to contribute to the rehabilitation of families displaced by the catastrophic landslides that wiped out Mundakkai and Chooralmala localities in Wayanad district of Kerala.

Several entities, including political parties and the regional governments, had expressed interest in underwriting the cost of two model townships proposed at predetermined sites at Harrisons Malayalam Estate (65.41 hectares) in Nedumbala and Elstone Estate (78.73 hectares) near the Kalpetta bypass.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had stirred a controversy briefly by reminding Mr. Vijayan to respond to the neighbouring State’s offer to build 100 houses for landslide-affected families in the designated model township sites.

Mr. Vijayan responded that Kerala was integrating the list of sponsors and would brief the Karnataka government as soon as possible.

Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Rajan said the Kerala High Court’s order backing the State government’s move to acquire the plantation land would catalyse the rehabilitation package’s implementation. 

In October, the State government invoked the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to acquire the land for two model townships. However, the government’s township projects faced strong legal headwinds, with the Harrisons Malayalam Limited and Elstone Estate challenging the State’s acquisition move in the High Court. 

A five-member expert committee headed by geologist John Mathai, a former scientist of the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, had identified nine locations for the rehabilitation project.