Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan constituted a Cabinet subcommittee to oversee the rehabilitation and resettlement of families and individuals displaced by the catastrophic landslides in Wayanad.
The subcommittee comprises Revenue Minister K. Rajan, Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, Forests Minister A.K. Saseendran, and Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes Minister O.R. Kelu.
Mr. Vijayan said the government would chart a roadmap to restore Wayanad to normality once the search and rescue operations end.
“Relief camps are a temporary arrangement. The government will draw from its experience and formulate an action plan to reintegrate survivors into mainstream society, provide them with financial aid and sustainable means of livelihood, and restore documents, including revenue,” Mr. Vijayan said.
The government also posted A. Kowsigan and S. Sambasiva Rao, senior IAS officers, as Special Officers to supervise the crisis management.
Mr. Vijayan said Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had fully supported the government. Other political parties also declared solidarity with the government’s search, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts.
Mr. Vijayan said psychiatrists and counsellors will help traumatised survivors and help them reconcile with the disaster and move on in life.
He said an estimated 9,328 landslide survivors were in government-run relief camps, numbering around 91.
They include members of 2,704 families displaced by the landslides. There are 3,393 men, 3,824 women, 2,090 children, and 21 pregnant women in the camps.
Ministers Mr. Rajan, Mr. Saseendran, Mr. Riyas, Mr. Kelu, Kadannappally Ramachandran, V.N. Vasavan, K. Krishnankutty, P. Prasad, Roshy Augustine, and Veena George attended the all-party meeting in Wayanad.
