'Kerala govt, Centre must be held accountable for Wayanad landslides,' say civic groups

Bengaluru: Stating that the state government of Kerala and the Union government have failed to implement recommendations to protect the Western Ghats as well as people, the National Working Group and River Valley Forum of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) said both should be held accountable for the Wayanad disaster.

In a statement endorsed by activists and experts, the alliance pointed to the "violation of the Gadgil Committee recommendations" by the Kerala government which permitted quarrying within a distance of 50 metres from human settlements, as against the Committee's stipulation of 100 metres.

"It is important to highlight that four years back, a high-level committee constituted by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) forewarned of landslides in the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats in Wayanad and recommended that 4,000 families be immediately shifted. It is a matter of extreme concern that the recommendations of this Committee were ignored, in a way, paving the way for the current tragedy," it said.

Referring to the twin tunnel road project proposed by the Kerala government about 2 km away from the landslide site, the NAPM said the current paradigm of "development" has intensified landslides across many states.

It said the landslide should not be passed off as "yet another natural disaster".

"While broader climatic conditions like warming of the Arabian sea has a key role to play in the changing rainfall patterns, leading to landslides, there are other human-induced or rather state-enabled actions like rampant deforestation and reckless construction that has accentuated the crisis. It is high time the underlying causes of these repeated landslides are officially acknowledged and necessary course-correction ensured," it said, adding that the Central and state Governments must own up responsibility.