2 Townships to be Built for Wayanad Survivors

The survivors of the July 2024 landslides in Meppadi, Wayanad who lost their homes and belongings in the tragedy will be rehabilitated in two model townships complete with disaster-resilient and self-sufficient infrastructure, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday.

- Vishnu Varma

KOCHI:

The state cabinet approved the master plan for the massive rehabilitation project as part of which the townships will come up on 58.50 hectares of Elstone estate in Kalpetta municipality and 48.96 hectares of Nedumpala estate in Meppadi panchayat.

The high court had earlier allowed the state government to acquire the land from the private owners under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

"Due to the difference in the cost of land in the two estates and varying land features, it has been decided that each family will get five cents of land in Elstone estate and 10 cents of land in Nedumpala estate. The homes will be 1,000 sq ft in dimensions and single-storeyed. The final list of the disaster-affected families will be released by January 25," the chief minister told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.