Inaugurated in haste? Wayanad township project slows to a crawl

KOZHIKODE: None of the beneficiaries has moved into the first batch of 178 houses for survivors of the 2024 Wayanad landslides, inaugurated nearly a month ago, owing to pending works. The delay has sparked political debate, with the opposition criticising the govt for inaugurating the project before its completion and terming it an election stunt.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had handed over the keys to the houses under the model township project at Elstone Estate in Kalpetta to the affected families on March 1.

While inaugurating the houses, the CM said the project had been planned in a way that all affected persons would be rehabilitated before the monsoon, while revenue minister K Rajan assured that construction in the township would proceed without interruption and all houses would be handed over before April 30.

Plumbing, sewage and drainage works still pending
The project is being executed by the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society. The work was in full swing before the inauguration, but it has since slowed due to shortage of workers.

Incidentally, several migrant workers have returned to their respective states, mainly West Bengal and Assam, for assembly elections there, sources said.

The administration claimed that beneficiaries were already informed of some pending works at the time of the inauguration, and efforts were under way to complete them. Works including plumbing and centralised systems such as sewage and drainage facilities are still pending, leaving the area an active construction site.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said the houses were inaugurated prematurely. "How many days has it been since the inauguration," he asked, adding that it took the govt one year to purchase the land for rehabilitation.

"They were trying to conduct an inauguration before the elections were declared. The works were yet to be completed and the houses were not ready for occupancy," he said.

The govt has not yet responded to the charges, but the CPM targeted Congress over its promise to construct houses for landslide survivors. CPM state secretary M V Govindan said Congress had failed to deliver on its promise to build 130 houses for survivors.

"There is no information on how much money was collected or in which bank account it has been deposited. They claim that it is in a joint account of the KPCC president and the opposition leader, both of whom are contesting the election. Such an account has not been mentioned in their election affidavits," he said.