‘This will be marked as Kerala’s own survival’: Pinarayi lays foundation stone for Wayanad landslide victims’ township

The event was attended by members of the state Cabinet, Opposition leaders and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, among others.

Addressing the gathering, which included survivors and beneficiaries of the project, Vijayan said the Wayanad rehabilitation programme sends a message that no disaster can defeat Kerala provided that the government acts with willpower and the people of the state stand with it.

“This rehabilitation will be marked as Kerala’s own survival. It gives the message that nothing is impossible if the people are with the government,” the CM said.

Vijayan said the cost of the rehabilitation was estimated as Rs 2,221 crore. The state had expected aid from the Centre as a major source of funds for the rehabilitation programme, but so far, the Centre has only given a loan of Rs 529 crore, he said.

The township will have 430 single-storey, 1,000-square-foot houses constructed in small clusters. It will also have common amenities such as a health centre, market, health club, school and other centres for community living.

As many as 242 families are included in the first phase of the rehabilitation. Of those, 175 beneficiaries have given their consent for a house in the township, while 67 others, who want to live outside the township, have agreed for a compensation of Rs 15 lakh each.

The Wayanad landslides hit the villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala in Wayanad’s Meppadi panchayat, claiming 298 lives. As many as 17 families were completely wiped out.