The Kerala High Court in Kochi has expressed serious concern regarding the welfare of victims affected by the recent landslide in Wayanad. During a hearing on Friday, a division bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Prita A.K. issued strict directives to the state government, mandating the timely disbursement of ex-gratia payments to the kin of the deceased and those injured in the disaster. The court is hearing the matter based on a suo motu petition initiated following the catastrophic landslides that struck the villages of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in July 2024, an event that claimed over 200 lives.
Court Directives on Relief and Compensation
Beyond the distribution of ex-gratia, the court ordered authorities to ensure that the bodies of the victims are handed over to their respective families without delay. The bench suggested that the funds for compensation and medical treatment of the injured could currently be drawn from the tunnel project's account, noting that the responsibility for the final recovery of these funds would be determined at a later stage. Appearing for the state, Advocate General Jaju Babu informed the bench that search operations are currently utilizing human labor, as rescue dogs have struggled to locate bodies due to the thick slush and marshy conditions at the site.
Inquiries into Site Operations
The government maintained that all construction activities at the site had been suspended following a May 25 order, with only external works being permitted, and a total cessation of work was ordered on July 5. The state government claimed that the loss of life was minimized due to timely interventions. In a report submitted to the court, the government asserted that had the work not been stopped on July 5 per the instructions of the Wayanad District Disaster Management Authority in light of heavy rainfall, the death toll would have been significantly higher.
The bench, however, challenged this narrative, pointedly asking the state representatives why workers were present at the site if operations had been officially suspended. The court has demanded a detailed response on this discrepancy before the next hearing.
Infrastructure Oversight and Safety Issues
The court further observed that the implementing agency for the project, Konkan Railway, had been repeatedly instructed to remove excavated soil from the site to prevent potential hazards. The landslide occurred on July 7 at the site of the Anakkampoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which aims to provide connectivity between the districts of Wayanad and Kozhikode. Following the recovery of another body from the disaster site on Friday, the official death toll for this specific landslide incident rose to seven. The court continues to monitor the government's response regarding these safety lapses.
