Wayanad landslide: Kerala govt to declare missing as dead
The move is to facilitate the disbursement of ex-gratia to their immediate family members.
The move is to facilitate the disbursement of ex-gratia to their immediate family members.
The move is to facilitate the disbursement of ex-gratia to their immediate family members.
Thiruvananthapuram/Wayanad: The Kerala government has decided to declare individuals missing in the Wayanad landslide dead to facilitate the disbursement of ex-gratia to their immediate family members. To streamline the process, a regional committee will be established to compile details of the missing persons, with Revenue officials instructed to collect data directly from police stations based on FIRs filed for missing individuals.
As per an order issued by Revenue and Housing Principal Secretary Tinku Biswal, both state-level and local-level committees will be formed to moderate the process. The local-level committee, comprising the village officer, panchayat secretary, and station house officer, will verify the details and prepare special inquiry reports confirming the missing individuals could not be located.
The compiled reports will be submitted to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which will review and forward them to the state-level committee. The state-level committee, which includes the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Principal Secretary (Revenue and Disaster Management), and Principal Secretary (Local Self-Governance), will conduct a thorough analysis and submit its findings to the state government.
Based on these recommendations, the government will issue orders officially declaring the missing individuals as deceased, enabling the release of ex-gratia to their next of kin. The catastrophic landslide struck the Wayanad villages of Mundakkai and Chooralmala on July 30, 2024, resulting in hundreds of fatalities, with many others injured or stranded.