Wayanad landslide: NGT issues notices to TN, Kerala on safety of hills

CHENNAI: Even as rescue operations in landslide-hit Wayanad district is ongoing and concerns over safety of Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu coming to fore, the southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments seeking details of measures taken to prevent such kind of incidents.

The notices were issued to chief secretaries and state disaster management authorities of both States as well as to district collectors of Wayanad and Idukki in Kerala and Nilgiris and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

While hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the incident, the judicial member Pushpa Sathyanarayana stated that the Tribunal wanted to know how the landslides happened apart from knowing the remedial and prevention measures the State authorities have in place to prevent recurring of such tragedies.

Expressing displeasure over how permits were given for building constructions on the hill slopes both in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the judicial member sought details of the type of the soil in landslide affected Chooralmala and Mundakkai in the Meppadi region, carrying capacity of the region and reason for allowing high number of buildings.

The Tribunal also pointed out that the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil report has classified Vythiri taluk of Wayanad district as ecologically sensitive zone-1, where change in land use is not permitted.

The Tribunal also took note of the mushrooming resorts in Nilgiris and Valparai and the tourism department why it did not control the construction resorts in landslide prone areas.