“We have nothing to lose, we already lost everything in the landslide,” said 50-year-old Nazeer Alakkal, who, like many others, is still waiting for a permanent home nearly seven months after the devastating disaster in Kerala’s Wayanad district. Nazeer and many other survivors continue to reel from the trauma of the tragedy that struck Meppadi panchayat in the early hours of July 30, 2024, claiming over 400 lives and destroying hundreds of houses. Several of them currently reside in rented homes across the district, with the government and other organisations providing the rent amount and food kits to support them.
But many have questions: What happened to the government’s rehabilitation promises? Why the inordinate delay? Are some of them being excluded?
One survivor alleged that several people were left off the latest list, released by the government on February 22, Saturday, of those eligible for rehabilitation in the second phase.
In response, members of an action council meant for those affected by the landslide, called Janashabdham (People’s Voice), took to the streets on February 23, constructing makeshift huts near the landslide-hit area to protest the alleged delay in the rehabilitation process.
Nazeer, who lost part of his house in the landslide and is currently living in a rented home, is the chairperson of the council. “We will never believe [the government] again. They promised us many things but executed nothing. We have no new demands. We are asking the government to fulfil the promises they made before,” he said.
Concerns over exclusion from the list
So far, the state government has released two lists of eligible survivors for rehabilitation.
The Phase One list includes individuals whose homes were completely destroyed in the landslide, while the Phase Two list contains names of those whose homes were within 30 metres of the landslide-affected areas that are now inhabited. The initial draft of the Phase One list was released in December, but over 100 families were excluded from it. A revised list for Phase One was published on February 7.
Now, the government has released a list of 81 beneficiaries, allowing survivors to raise concerns regarding the list until March 7. In total, combining both lists, 323 families are currently eligible for rehabilitation.
“Earlier, the government stated that it would publish the Phase One and Two lists together. But phase two was eventually published over two months after the first draft list. The delay in publishing the second-phase list was one of the reasons for the protest. Similarly, some individuals' names were missed from the list, which also triggered the survivors,” Babu K, the president of the Mundakkai panchayat, told TNM.
“I am from Mundakkai Ward, and my name, along with 17 others from my ward, was not included on the list. We will fight against this injustice. The kitchen in my house is completely damaged. We managed to escape the disaster as we left the area about an hour before the landslide,” Nazeer added.
According to Babu, there are a few houses in Mundakkai that are partially damaged, but aren’t located within 30 metres of the landslide-affected areas as mapped by the government. These homes were not included in the lists, which has also raised concerns among survivors. “Many of them also cannot live in their houses because it would be difficult for them to rebuild their lives on the land that took the lives of their loved ones. In our opinion, we should take their emotions into account and should provide rehabilitation for all those affected,” Babu added.
He also mentioned that the government was supposed to issue another list for the rehabilitation of these people too, but said the panchayat doesn’t know when it will be released.
Other concerns
In January 2025, the Kerala government announced the construction of two townships for the survivors. The townships are planned for 65.41 acres of the Harrison Malayalam Estate in Nedumbala, Meppadi grama panchayat, and 78.73 acres of land of Elston Estate in Kalpetta. According to Babu and other survivors, the government initially promised to provide 10 cents of land and a 1,000 sq ft home. However, when the township project was announced, the government stated that in the Kalpetta township, each family would receive 5 cents and a 1,000 sq ft home, while in the Meppadi township, each family would receive 10 cents and a 1,000 sq ft home. Survivors and panchayat representatives told TNM that the government should not differentiate rehabilitation in this way.
“Such a differentiation is not acceptable. Once the house is built, people will have nothing to do on the five cents,” Babu said.
Meanwhile, reports indicated that the Nedumbala Estate has been temporarily excluded from the township project due to a low number of beneficiaries and limited availability of basic facilities. Mansoor, who is the chairperson of the Janakeeya Action Committee, consisting solely of landslide survivors, said they wanted the government to acquire this land and start building houses there.
The landslide completely destroyed Mansoor’s house and his supermarket. He now lives in a rented home in Kalpetta panchayat. His name was included in the Phase One list, but he is still concerned about the delay in the rehabilitation process. “We don’t know what our future holds. I lost my shop, my house, and everything. I have to repay the loan I took for my business. I don’t know what to do,” Mansoor said.
The committee has also planned a protest march to the Wayanad Collectorate on Monday, February 24, to raise similar concerns.
Meanwhile, the protest on February 23, which began around 9 am, saw the police blocking the protesters from going to the landslide-hit areas. This led to verbal arguments between the protesters and the police, and the group ended the protest by the afternoon. According to reports, Revenue Minister K Rajan assured that the government is open to discussions to address and resolve the concerns of the survivors.