Wayanad Landslides: Plea In Kerala High Court Seeks Disaster Relief Fund Management And Oversight Of House Construction For Victims

The plea also seeks directions to ensure that the construction of the number of houses offered by each organization is monitored and supervised to avoid any misallocation or discrimination to victims.

On July 30, 2024, intense rainfall in Wayanad caused landslides in the district's hilly regions, particularly affecting the villages of Mundakkai and Choormala. Reports indicate that over 400 people have died and more than 100 are still missing.

The Division Bench comprising Justice A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. will hear the matter today.

The petitioner states that disaster relief funds collected by various stakeholders are essential to mitigate the disaster's impact and help the victims.

It is stated that coordination between various stakeholders including government, government agencies, NGOs, District administration, and private sectors is essential to ensure that disaster reliefs are used transparently for the benefit of victims.

The plea stated that misuse or mismanagement of funds during disasters could occur due to lack of transparency, poor oversight, corruption, and insufficient oversight mechanisms.

The plea alleged that various organizations under the guise of various political and religious names are also collecting funds through social media platforms like YouTube and other mobile apps. The plea stated that the collection of funds by private parties is taking place when the government is officially mobilizing funds from various parts of the world to the CMDRF (Chief Minister Distress Relief Fund).

The plea stated that the collection of funds by private parties without accountability would result in its misuse and misallocation.

The petitioner thus states that there should be a centralized mechanism for the collection of disaster relief funds.

“Therefore the collection of fund by the different organization has to be discouraged or should be monitored and utilsation of finds should be directed through a centralized fund so that the collection of fund by any of the organization is not discouraged or affected and at the same time it can be utilized effectively by the said centralized agencies", the plea said. 

The plea also calls for oversight and supervision of the house construction process for the affected victims in Wayanad, as multiple stakeholders are involved in building these homes. It emphasizes the need to ensure that all houses are similar in nature and free from any political or religious symbols so that victims feel equally treated and not subjected to discrimination in any form.

The plea thus seeks directions to make rules or regulations to manage disaster fund collection, and to investigate into collection and regulation of funds. It also seeks directions to ensure that all funds collected are deposited to the CMDRF(Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund) or any other account created by the Government.

The Kerala High Court has also registered a suo moto case to prevent and manage natural disasters in Kerala.

The plea has been moved by Advocates Abdul Raoof Pallipath, I.E.Mohammed Shafi, Prajit Ratnakaran, Sithara Raheem V.K

Case Title: C. Shukkur V The State Of Kerala

Case Number: WP(C) 28487/ 2024