Kerala government to blame for Wayanad disaster: Union minister

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday blamed the Kerala government for the Wayanad disaster that killed more than 400 people, saying it allowed illegal settlements and mining in the fragile region. The Kerala government hit back, saying the need of the hour was greater financial assistance from the Centre, rather than blame.

Relentless rains on 30 July caused two massive landslides in Wayanad.

According to the Kerala State Electricity Board, as many as 302 houses were reduced to rubble in the disaster zone. A government statement on Monday said 352 houses had been wiped out and 122 others damaged. The official death toll clocked 226 while the the number of missing was put at 180. Unofficial estimates indicated that the death toll alone had crossed 400.

Yadav said no environmental clearance had been given to Kerala for development projects in the past 10 years, except for one that is yet to start.

“The Kerala government allowed illegal mining, uncontrolled construction and unregulated commercial activity in the state’s fragile region that resulted in the devastating landslides in Wayanad district,” Yadav told reporters. 

“We did not grant environmental clearance to the state in the past 10 years for any development project, except one (a four-lane tunnel-road on the Anakkampoyli-Kalladi-Meppadi stretch) but the work has not started yet. The Kerala government had the environmental clearance power and cleared three projects,” Yadav said.

“The problem is that when we expand human habitat in such ecologically fragile areas, we need to check the condition of rocks, soil topography, geomorphology, slop angle of habitat in hilly areas and the structure of vegetation. The Kerala government did not pay attention to these in the last 10 years. That is the reason why when torrential rain was there, such a disaster took place. Illegal mining in non-forest land, uncontrolled construction and unregulated commercial activity near that area are the causes of landslides in Wayanad,” Yadav said.

Senior officials at the ministry pointed out that in the past three years, Kerala granted environmental clearance for three quarries, two of which are for granite stone in Wayanad district.

Former chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, Madhav Gadgil, has termed the disaster that nearly wiped out the regions of Chooralmala and Mundakkai, as a “man-made tragedy”. 

He attributed it to the Kerala government’s failure to implement essential ecological recommendations.

Forest minister of Kerala A.K. Saseendran condemned Yadav’s statements, saying it was the wrong time to blame one another. 

“To say that this disaster was caused by Kerala’s wrong actions, raises the suspicion that the Centre may be planning to deny the rightful financial assistance to the state. Kerala has collectively demanded that this tragedy be declared as a ‘national disaster’. The Union environment minister’s stand to not help the state at this time will be seen as injustice to the people of the state” Saseendran said.

Appointed by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the Gadgil-led panel was established in 2010 to develop conservation strategies for the Western Ghats. 

Between 2014 and 2020, Kerala alone accounted for 61.21% of the 3,656 landslides in the country, according to a statement by the ministry of earth sciences in the Lok Sabha.

Another high-level working group, led by K. Kasturirangan and formed in 2013, proposed 37% of Western Ghats to be declared as eco-sensitive areas. It also asked for a blanket ban on mining, quarrying and thermal power projects.

Yadav further said the consultation with states on the notification of eco-sensitive zone in the Western Ghats should be finalized soon.

The environment ministry has issued six draft notifications, including one issued on 31 July, since March 10, 2014, to declare over 56,800 sq km of the Western Ghats across six states as eco-sensitive but the final notification is pending amid objections from states.

The Western Ghats, known for their rich biodiversity, have been battered by frequent cyclones in recent years. Since 2019, the region has seen four major storms—Cyclone Vayu in 2019, Nisarga in 2020, Tauktae in 2021, and Biporjoy last year.