Kerala govt constitutes expert panel to examine reasons for Wayanad landslide

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 11 (PTI) The Kerala government on Saturday ordered constitution of a five-member expert panel to enquire into the reasons for the landslide at the Wayanad tunnel project site. The panel will enquire whether the contractor has violated the contract conditions and will also look into the environment and forest clearances given to the project by the state and the Centre. The panel comprises Dr C P Rajendran (geologist), Dr Vishnudas (ecologist), Dr P Pugazhendi (Chief Wildlife Warden, Kerala), Secretary of Public Works Department (PWD) and Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department who will also be the convenor, the order said. It said that the convenor may co-opt experts as members if deemed necessary. The terms of reference of the panel are to identify the causes of the accident, examine whether the contractor has violated the contract conditions and look into the environment and forest clearances given by the state and the Centre and to submit a report within a month, the order said. The government also issued an order sanctioning Rs five lakh financial assistance to the dependents of those who died in the landslide and upto Rs two lakh to the injured, based on the extent of their injuries, towards treatment costs. The amounts will be paid out of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), the order said. The order constituting the expert panel comes days after Chief Minister V D Satheesan said that the government will carry out a techno-legal study of the reasons for the landslide and will also investigate if the conditions of the environment clearance granted to the project have been followed by the contractor. The CM had said that the project work will restart only after the study and investigation are completed. A landslide occurred on July 7 at the site of the Anakkompoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which is intended to connect Wayanad and Kozhikode districts, claiming seven lives with one person still missing. PTI HMP ROH