After Kerala HC order, work starts for Wayanad rehabilitation township

Wayanad, Kerala: Construction work of the township for the Wayanad landslides victims commenced early Saturday morning at the Elstone Estate near Kalpetta here.

The commencement of the work was also announced by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a Facebook post in which he said, "Together, we will complete the rehabilitation of the disaster victims".

The work began a day after the Kerala High Court paved the way for the state government to take possession of the Elstone Estate land, meant for the project, after depositing an additional Rs 17.77 crore.

A Wayanad district administration official said that following the High Court order on Friday, the District Disaster Management Authority held a meeting the same evening and decided to deposit the amount and take possession of the land.

Thereafter, District Collector Meghashree D R and other concerned officials completed all the required formalities during the night, the official said.

However, as the work commenced, a group of people who used to work in the Elstone Estate arrived at the site and said they had not been paid by their employers -- the companies which ran the tea estate -- and therefore, they could not be removed from there.

According to visuals shown on TV channels, they also got into a heated argument with some CPI(M) leaders present at the site and threatened to hold protests there till they were paid their wages.

The work was not disrupted by them and it continued without any hindrance.

A representative of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), the main contractor of the project, told the media here that the construction work has commenced and it will move forward quickly.

"The first thing to be done is to construct a road to the site to expedite the arrival of construction material and equipment," he said.

The state government had already deposited around Rs 26.56 crore in March for taking symbolic possession of the land ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the township.

The companies which owned the land in the Elstone Estate were not satisfied with the amount and moved the High Court for enhancement of the same, following which the state government agreed to pay an additional Rs 17.77 crore.

Based on the government's submission, the High Court directed it to deposit the amount and then take possession of the land.

While passing the order, the court also said the companies' claims for enhancement of the compensation can be examined further in the proceedings pending before the High Court, but for now, the possession of the land has to be granted to the state government to ensure the rehabilitation project is not delayed.

A major landslide struck the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions on July 30 last year, almost completely decimating both areas. The disaster left hundreds injured, claimed over 200 lives, and 32 people remain missing.

With PTI inputs