Kerala disburses Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to kin of Wayanad landslide victims: HC told

The Kerala government informed the High Court that Rs 5 lakh ex gratia has been credited to the accounts of each of the eight Wayanad landslide victims, while Rs 18 lakh was sanctioned for the injured. Compensation will be released after legal heirship and medical assessment

Kochi: The Kerala government on Friday told the High Court that it has disbursed Rs five lakh as ex-gratia into each of the accounts of the eight men who died in the July 7 landslide at the site of the Anakkompoyil-Meppadi tunnel project in Wayanad.

The government told a bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and A K Preeta that the funds can be withdrawn by the dependents of the deceased only after their legal heirship is established.

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The court on July 10 had directed the government to not delay disbursal of the ex-gratia. The government, represented by Advocate General (AG) Jaju Babu, also said that Rs 18 lakh has been sanctioned towards ex-gratia for the nine persons injured in the disaster.

The AG told the court that a medical board is being convened on an urgent basis to assess the extent of their injuries. “Based on the recommendations of the medical board, the admissible ex-gratia assistance will be released without delay,” he said.

Regarding the court’s query on the last date as to what were the deceased doing at the worksite if all activity was stopped there from July 5 on orders of the District Disaster Management Authority, Wayanad, the government said 65 people were deployed by the construction company for ensuring site safety and minimising disruptions.

The government said that the people on-site comprised engineers, drivers, workers and four labourers and they were carrying out cleaning of the Meppadi-Chooralmala road to ensure unhindered traffic movement, soil dumping area monitoring and protection measures and tarpaulin laying on excavated soil to prevent slope instability.

The High Court on July 10 had directed the state government to ensure that ex gratia amounts are paid on time to the next of kin of those who died in the landslide as well as to those injured in the incident.

The court had issued the direction in a petition initiated by it on its own in 2024, following the landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages in Wayanad district in July that year, in which more than 200 people were killed. The petition concerns the prevention and management of natural disasters in Kerala.