Wayanad landslides: Rehabilitating, compensating victims pose challenges
What is needed is a law that defines compensation for losses resulting from natural disasters as a right rather than an act of sympathy or charity, experts say.
Almost two weeks have passed since landslides struck Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchiri Mattam villages in Kerala's Wayanad. The aftermath has left at least 400 people dead (including those missing) and countless families displaced, underscoring the need for rehabilitation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the survivors of maximum support from the central government during his visit to the affected villages on August 10.
The state government too has made promises. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government has said it is working on a comprehensive rehabilitation plan, which expects ₹2000 crore as central allocation. Vijayan’s promise to build a township in a safer zone equipped with various livelihood and vocational options has instilled optimism among the survivors.
In the meantime, the state government is grappling with the significant challenge of temporarily rehabilitating survivors living in 16 camps. It faces the daunting task of finding temporary rented houses, preferably within Wayanad, for 2,225 people from 648 families who hail from the three affected villages.
Revenue minister K Rajan told HT that the rented houses will have all the facilities required for a decent existence. In the second phase, the families will be shifted to transit homes, and in the third phase, they will get permanent rehabilitation in the proposed townships.
According to Rajan, several families from Attamala, Soojippara, Elavayal, and other vulnerable villages adjacent to Mundakai and Chooralmala also reside in the temporary accommodations for the survivors. However, residents of these villages have demanded a comprehensive rehabilitation package, pointing out that their areas are also highly vulnerable to landslides.
PWD minister Muhammed Riyas has said the government will provide 23 PWD quarters and rest houses to accommodate displaced persons. Efforts are on to rent vacant houses of expatriates.
"Rehabilitation does not mean merely finding land and houses. It will address all requisites of the affected families. The government will ensure their safety, and the township will be a model for the world," said Vijayan.
According to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), 302 houses were reported “missing” from the disaster zone. However, a government statement on August 5 stated that 352 houses had been destroyed and 122 others were damaged.
In response to the situation, many individuals and organisations have come forward to help build houses for the victims. Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi has pledged to construct 100 houses, and the Karnataka government has promised to build another 100. Additionally, individuals and corporate groups have offered to purchase land and build houses for the survivors. The Chief Minister's relief fund has also received substantial donations for rehabilitation efforts.
Rehabilitation track record
But amid all the lofty promises, Kerala's track record of rehabilitating survivors of past disastrous climate events is not encouraging.
Meagre compensations and forgotten promises have failed to extend justice to the survivors of climate events ranging from tsunamis to cyclones like Oakhi. Many have struggled hard in temporary camps arranged at schools and cement godowns for several years in the absence of promised permanent rehabilitation.
Even in the case of victims of the Pettimudi, Kavalappara and Puthumala landslides, which occurred five years ago, promised compensation was inadequate.
Survivors of the Pettimudi landslide in the Idukki district are yet to get ₹2 lakh announced by the Union government; the ₹5 lakh compensation from the state government, though handed over, was meagre as well. The Kannandevan Plantation Company has constructed houses for eight survivors on land donated by the state government in a faraway location. However, all of them still live in temporary accommodations close to the tea estates where they work because of the easy access to the work.
According to environmentalist Sreedhar Radhakrishnan, the state should consider implementing a law similar to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, passed by the Union government.
He emphasised the need for a law that defines compensation for losses resulting from natural disasters as a right rather than an act of sympathy or charity. Radhakrishnan highlighted that individuals who lose everything in such disasters should be able to see full and fair compensation as their entitlement. He emphasised the significance of a law that addresses the psychological trauma these events cause.
The president of the Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS), N Badusha, states that farmers who lose their land to natural calamities should be compensated for their loss of livelihood, the trauma they endure and the cost of displacement. They should also be provided with farmland.
High court lawyer Harish Vasudevan, known for interventions in cases related to the environment, supports this demand. He mentioned that the existing law on disaster management already includes provisions recognising relief assistance as a right. According to the law, the state government can increase the compensation amount if the prescribed amount is insufficient in a particular case. The state can do this by bringing in subordinate legislation through rules.
The state government can also request the Centre to increase its share. He also pointed out Section 19 of the Disaster Management Act, which empowers the state to establish detailed guidelines for providing relief standards to victims.
"In Puthumala and Kavalappara, some individuals and organisations that promised huge financial assistance backtracked halfway. Many are still languishing in rented homes unsuitable for them because of the meagre rent sanctioned by the state government. Only very few have been rehabilitated properly due to the intervention of different social, charity, and corporate organisations,'' said P T John, leader from a farmers’ organisation.
Another issue bothering the survivors is the pending loans they took out for the houses they lost in the disasters. K V Usha, who lost her son Vinod in the Kavalappara tragedy, said she still gets bank notices seeking early payment of the defaulted loan with accumulated interest.
In Wayanad, where extreme climate incidents have become an annual affair since 2018, finding safer land for rehabilitation remains a tough task. Around 40% of the district is vulnerable to landslides and other extreme weather events.
"The biggest challenge is giving moral support to the survivors to come out of the trauma at least till they are provided a safe rehabilitation," said local MLA T Siddique. "Rehabilitation is not just providing a name-sake house and very little money. Their educational, health, livelihood and career needs must be addressed,'' Siddique said
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