Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide: Farmers with land in No-Go Zone move HC seeking compensation

Kalpetta: Hundreds of farmers from the landslide-hit Mundakkai–Chooralmala have approached the High Court seeking compensation, after their lands were declared a part of ‘No-Go Zones’. Their lands fall within the ‘No-Go Zone’ where farming activities have been restricted by a technical committee. They have sought relief under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and National Rehabilitation Policy, 2007.

Following the disaster on the night of July 30, 2024, the State Disaster Management Authority declared a large area within Meppadi panchayat as disaster-affected. A technical committee of experts was subsequently constituted to assess disaster risk and human habitability in the region.

The expert panel, headed by noted earth sciences expert Dr John Mathai, demarcated safe zones (Go Zones) and No-Go zones (prohibited zones) along the washed-away banks of the Punnappuzha river, stretching from Punchirimattam to Chooralmala.

The petitioners said that while the state government has launched a township project to rehabilitate homeless victims and earmarked ₹195.55 crore for cleaning and rejuvenating the Punnappuzha river under the River Rejuvenation and Debris Clearance project in Meppadi panchayat, no serious steps have been taken to compensate hundreds of farmers whose lands were taken over and declared No-Go Zones. The river rejuvenation project has been awarded to the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society and is currently underway. They pointed out that the government has allotted only seven cents of land to each affected family in the township, while no compensation has been provided for the loss of land or livelihood.

According to advocate Jameela P, one of the petitioners, her family alone suffered losses worth several crores after their properties were declared part of the No-Go Zone. A practising lawyer in Kalpetta, she said her family lost commercial establishments in Chooralmala town and Mundakkai, besides large residential houses.

A three-storey residence built entirely of granite was washed away in the landslide. Commercial buildings that formed the family’s primary source of income were also destroyed. Several acres of agricultural land in the area have been marked as No-Go Zones, where all forms of human activity are prohibited.

Speaking to Onmanorama, Jameela said that while no immediate family member was killed in the disaster, nearly 30 of her close relatives lost their lives. Explaining the delay in approaching the High Court, she said the families had initially believed that the government’s focus on river rejuvenation and environmental restoration would eventually extend to addressing their losses. However, in the absence of any concrete steps, they were compelled to seek legal remedies.

More than 200 people are now in the process of approaching the High Court seeking compensation. The court recently took up Jameela’s petition and began hearing the case.

Meanwhile, the state government is preparing to complete the first phase of the township project. Construction of 344 houses is under way, with 122 nearing completion, on the 64-acre site acquired near Kalpetta for the project.