Kerala to allocate ₹750 crore for Wayanad landslide survivors: Finance minister
Kerala finance minister KN Balagopal announced the project while presenting the annual budget for the 2025-26 financial year (FY) in the Assembly
Kochi: The Kerala government will allocate ₹750 crore for the rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide survivors, state finance minister KN Balagopal announced on Friday while presenting the annual budget for the 2025-26 financial year (FY) in the Assembly.
Over 250 people were killed in the landslides in Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchiri Mattam villages in Meppadi panchayat on July last year.
Balagopal criticised the Centre for not allocating a special package for the Wayanad rehabilitation in the Union budget despite the State submitting a “detailed memorandum of ₹2221 crore” in November last year.
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“The State will utilise funds from the chief minister’s distress relief fund (CMDRF), state disaster management authority (SDMA) and try to get private sponsorship to carry out the rehabilitation project,” Balagopal said.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced on January 2 that the survivors of the landslides in Meppadi, Wayanad who lost their homes and belongings in the tragedy will be rehabilitated in two model townships complete with disaster-resilient and self-sufficient infrastructure
Vijayan said the townships will be equipped with all necessary infrastructure such as schools, anganwadis, hospitals and clinics and recreation areas.
The state cabinet approved the master plan for the massive rehabilitation project as part of which the townships will come up on 58.50 hectares of Elstone estate in Kalpetta municipality and 48.96 hectares of Nedumpala estate in Meppadi panchayat. The high court had earlier allowed the state government to acquire the land from the private owners under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
In the early hours of July 30, 2024, multiple landslides in Meppadi panchayat in Wayanad flattened at least three densely-populated human settlements, killing over 250 people and securing a place in the state’s history as its worst natural disaster. The aftermath has left at least 400 people feared dead (including those missing) and countless families displaced, underscoring the need for rehabilitation