Following the landslip at Kalladi in Wayanad that claimed seven lives, the Kerala government on Friday constituted a three-member expert committee to recommend the appropriate method for removing the soil accumulated during the construction of the Anakkampoyil–Kalladi twin-tunnel road project.
The committee will also oversee the safe removal and disposal of the debris accumulated at Elstone Estate.
The landslip occurred on July 7 at the construction site of the twin-tunnel road project, burying workers and heavy machinery under a massive volume of mud and debris. Three workers died in the initial collapse, while five others went missing and nine were injured. Three more bodies were recovered during Thursday’s search operation, and the seventh victim’s body was recovered on Friday.
The decision to constitute the committee was taken at a meeting attended by the Chief Minister, the Home Minister and the Public Works Minister.
The committee comprises Dr Santhosh G Thampi, a professor at NIT Kozhikode, Dr Jude Emmanuel, an environmental scientist with the Environment Directorate, and a representative of the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS).
According to the government order, the committee will visit the site and guide the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in safely removing the debris to the disposal sites identified by the Public Works Department (PWD). In the case of Elstone Estate, the disposal sites will be identified by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU).
The committee has also been tasked with preparing a short-term action plan outlining the necessary safeguards for the debris removal process. The plan is to be strictly implemented by the PWD and the PIU.
The Wayanad District Collector has been tasked with extending all necessary assistance to the committee.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala High Court directed the state government to immediately disburse ex gratia compensation to the victims and bear the hospitalisation and treatment expenses of the injured until their discharge. The court also ordered the authorities to hand over the bodies of the deceased to their families without delay.
The incident has sparked outrage among environmental groups, which alleged that the tunnel project was undertaken without adequate scientific evaluation despite repeated warnings. A geotechnical assessment of the project site had cautioned about the possibility of large-scale slope failure due to the progressive weakening of the hillside.
Agriculture Minister and Wayanad in-charge Minister T Siddique had also alleged that the cave-in at the twin-tunnel project site was caused by the “unscientific accumulation of mud” and said the government would conduct a detailed investigation into the lapses that led to the tragedy.
