The Opposition staged a walk out in the Assembly on Monday charging the LDF government with abandoning its disaster management, risk mitigation and rehabilitation responsibilities in Kavalappara (Malappuram), Puthumala(Wayanad) and Pettimudi (Idukki) where natural disasters had taken the lives of nearly 140 since 2018.
"Even a year and more after these consecutive tragedies, rehabilitation and relief measures have still not been completed," Congress MLA T Sidhique said while moving an adjournment motion on the issue in the Assembly.
Revenue minister K Rajan sounded hurt that the Opposition had attempted to politicise the issue but the figures he gave in the Assembly confirmed the Opposition charge that the rehabilitation efforts in most of the disaster-affected areas were incomplete.
The minister said 66 had died in the Pettimudi landslide in September last year, and four were declared missing. He said 46 families were given an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each. As for 20 other families, he said there were issues related to securing the heirship certificates. "We can disburse the assistance to 18 families this week itself," the revenue minister said. However, he said the paper work related to two families were still not complete.
He said 59 people had died in Kavalappara. All the 127 affected families were relocated, he said. NRI industrialist Yusuf Ali constructed 33 houses. "Of the remaining 65 houses to be constructed, 58 are under construction," the minister said. "There are issues related to purchase of land in the case of others, " the minister said.
At Puthumala, 12 had died and five were declared missing. Minister Rajan said that 67 houses were fully destroyed. "91 families were relocated. 42 were given a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh. Nearly 50 remain to be fully compensated. Rs 4 lakh has been deposited in their bank accounts," the revenue minister said.
Sidhique said that the government had promised full rehabilitation in six months. "But even years after the tragedies had struck, you have still not completed rehabilitation measures. There is no proper coordination and planning," Sidhique said.
He said that 32 scheduled tribe families in Kavalappara were still living in relief camps and some were out in the streets. "There were others who were staying in rented houses but the government is not even helping them with the rents," the Congress MLA said. The revenue minister did not respond to this.
As proof of the government's tardy rehabilitation, Sidhique said that the government had not bothered to relocate the 69 families that were living at the base of the highly fragile Muthappankunnu in Malappuram. He said steps had still not been initiated to acquire land for an LP School that was destroyed at Puthumala.
Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, apart from reiterating the charges, said that the Rebuild Kerala Mission was in deep freeze. He said thatRs7405 crore had been allocated for the RKM. "However, onlyRs460 crore had been utilised, " Satheesan said.
He also revived an old allegation about World Bank funding. He said the WB had handed overRs1779 cr as first tranche for post-disaster reconstruction in 2019. "You were supposed to transfer the money to Rebuild Kerala Mission within seven days of its receipt. Have you done this," he asked. The question was hurled by Satheesan at former finance minister Thomas Isaac also. Isaac had then said that funds were bundled together and could not be kept separately for separate purposes. Neither the revenue minister nor the Chief Minister responded on Monday.
Further, Satheesan said no compensation were provided to farmers whose lands were destroyed in the floods. "You had not even removed the mud from these farm lands," Satheesan said. "If the mud is not removed, how can these farmers even hope to get a loan," he asked.
