The Union government on Monday, December 30 declared the Wayanad landslide as a disaster of severe nature as requested by the Kerala government. Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi welcomed the decision and said that this would help in rehabilitation.
"I am glad @AmitShah has finally taken the decision to declare the Wayanad tragedy as a “Disaster of Severe Nature”. This will greatly help those in need of rehabilitation and is definitely a step in the right direction. We will all be grateful if adequate funds for the same can also be allocated at the earliest,” Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X, tagging Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
It was in July that the worst-ever landslide hit the state, washing away four villages, leaving 231 dead while 47 people continue to be missing. As many as 145 homes were fully destroyed, 170 homes were partially destroyed, 240 homes were declared uninhabitable, and 183 homes were washed away.
The announcement from the Union government came five months after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the request.
The letter also mentions that the State Disaster Response Fund has already received financial assistance for immediate relief efforts. However, there is no response regarding the state’s request for debt waivers or additional funds for relief operations.
Kerala had put forward four main demands: declaring the landslide an extremely severe disaster, providing more funds for relief operations, writing off the debts of affected individuals, and allocating a special financial aid package for reconstruction.
This fresh development comes at a time when the Kerala High Court gave the green signal to the Pinarayi Vijayan government to acquire two estates for the construction of townships to fully rehabilitate the affected from the four villages in Wayanad.
The sites that were identified by the Wayanad district authorities included the Harrison Malayalam Estate (65.41 acres ) in Nedumbala, Meppadi Gram Panchayat, and Elston Estate ( 78.73 acres) in Kalpetta.
The High Court issued this directive under the Disaster Management Act, allowing the government to proceed with the land acquisition and also directed that fair compensation must be provided to the landowners.