Wayanad landslide survivors to get monthly financial aid till June

Thrissur: Revenue Minister K Rajan on Sunday announced that Wayanad landslide survivors will continue to receive monthly financial assistance of ₹9,000 for the next six months. The Kerala government has issued an order extending the aid, he told the media at the venue of the Kerala School Kalolsavam.

“Eligible families will continue to receive the amount. The district collector has been asked to complete the formalities and disburse the funds starting in January itself. There were rumours that the government had stopped the financial aid in December. The government had already decided to continue the disbursement until the completion of the rehabilitation project." He clarified that the order was issued not in response to protests or allegations against the government, displaying the government order.

A total of 1,185 people from 656 families have been receiving the monthly assistance from the State Disaster Management Fund.

Speaking about the rehabilitation project, he said that 410 houses for people affected by the landslides at Chooralmala in Wayanad will be completed soon. He added that compensation for the merchants affected by the landslides will be distributed soon.

The first phase of the rehabilitation project is expected to be completed by February.

The minister alleged that there is a political conspiracy behind the false rumours related to the government’s welfare projects for Wayanad landslide survivors. 

It was in August 2024 that the state government announced financial assistance of ₹300 per day, i.e., ₹ 9,000 per month, to one member of each landslide-affected family. If these families have a bedridden member in a hospital, one additional family member is eligible for the aid.

A total of 266 people were killed, and 32 went missing in the landslides that struck Wayanad’s Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas on July 30, 2024. Around 630 people were rescued.