Vijayan government faces numerous challenges in rehabilitating Wayanad landslide survivors

Fifteen days after two massive landslides buried hundreds under the earth and wiped out three hamlets in Kerala’s picturesque Wayanad, the government’s plan for “comprehensive rehabilitation process for the survivors” is easier said than done due to the already fragile environment, according to the experts.

As the search operations to find those missing in the disaster are in the final phase, officials familiar with the matter said that the DNA tests cross-checked with the blood samples taken from the kin of the deceased in the next few days will help officials arrive at the approximate number of fatalities in one of the worst natural disasters in the state. While the official toll has crossed 230, the identification of severed body parts remains to be done.

The daunting task before the CPI(M)-led state government is now the rehabilitation of the survivors, a vast majority of whom have been robbed of their homes, belongings and livelihoods. Currently housed in relief camps set up at government schools and homes of relatives, the survivors will be rehabilitated in three phases, the administration has said, with the final stage where they will be ushered into permanent homes with land plots as part of a modern township.

“The government plans a comprehensive rehabilitation process for the survivors, aiming for swift completion. A new, safer area will be identified for constructing a township,” chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said on August 3, underlining that a ‘Help for Wayanad’ cell has been formed under Joint Land Revenue Commissioner A Geetha IAS to coordinate offers from who have pledged to donate land and financial help.

But a rehabilitation plan of this scale in an already fragile environment is easier said than done, say experts and public representatives on the ground. The biggest challenge for the project, they stress, is the availability of land.

Samshad Marakkar, president of the Wayanad district panchayat who has been coordinating closely with the administration over the issue, told HT, “We estimate that we may need to build around 470 houses for all the survivors. This includes those whose homes are partially damaged in the landslide zone but can’t return to live there. The availability of such massive land to accommodate all of them is extremely low.”

The region around the landslide-hit zones is populated largely by tea estates owned by private firms such as Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) which incidentally employed many who were killed in the landslides on July 30. Besides, Meppadi panchayat, where the disaster site is located, and neighbouring panchayats like Muttil, Pozhuthana and Muppainad have been assessed as prone to minor and major landslides over the years.

“Many have offered to sponsor land for the township, but the government must conduct proper environmental studies to ensure it’s a safe and secure place. If we don’t get one big plot of land, the township will then have to be divided which will essentially push up expenses. Each township must have health centres, anganwadis, schools and proper access roads just like the original settlements of Chooralmala and Mundakkai,” said Marakkar.

Recommendations regarding the rehabilitation blueprint have been given to the cabinet sub-committee overseeing the works in Wayanad, the district panchayat chief said. These include waiving off existing loans of all survivors, interest-free loans to start new enterprises and an IAS officer as nodal head to address grievances.

Another challenge for the government is ensuring that the livelihoods of the survivors are not affected by the permanent relocation. A majority of the affected are tea plantation workers who expect to be close to such estates to eke out their living. Shaharban, whose sister Raihanath (30) was among those who survived ‘miraculously’ from the landslide, told HT, “Wherever the proposed township is, it must not ideally be far from the basic employment needs of the people. Those like my sister’s husband who is a painter is mostly depended on his contacts in his village for work. Now that that’s gone, he will need assistance in getting painting works. The government must think about such needs as well.”

A third challenge is the threat of wild animals, particularly elephants and tigers, who are dwell in all forest areas surrounding Wayanad district and are known to routinely sneak into human settlements. At least three people were killed in elephant attacks in the district this year alone. “Human-animal conflict is a problem too, but it’s a persistent problem across the district. No panchayat is free of the conflict. But yes, the government must choose an area that’s far away from the forest and buffer zones,” said Marakkar.

VN Saseendran, president of the Muppainad panchayat, told HT that he attended a meeting with the cabinet sub-committee this week where he recommended a plot of 250 acres, reportedly owned by the forest department, in his panchayat for the township project. “It’s a flat land and is in a safe, secure zone. It’s also quite far away from the forests. There are tea estates nearby which can provide employment. The government must examine the legal aspects of the land and take a decision,” he said.

He said there is a fear among the survivors that when the noise around the search operations die down, the rehabilitation works will become slow. “They cannot live in temporary homes without earning for a long time. The rehabilitation project must become a reality soon,” he said.