It has been five months since the Wayanad landslides shocked the state. Rehabilitation of those who lost everything, including their homes, in the disaster still remains a major challenge. The rehabilitation list published by the government last week has invited widespread protests and opposition from the affected people. Many deserving people have been left out of the list while many unworthy have entered the list. While there is no difficulty in preparing a list of the actual beneficiaries from barely five hundred disaster victims, the fact that the draft list is full of problems may be due to the laziness of those who prepared the list or their stubbornness to do nothing right. In any case, the government has clarified that the draft list will be revised and changed.

Revenue Minister K Rajan has assured the other day that no one who is eligible for rehabilitation will be left out. We can hope that that assurance will be fully fulfilled. The rehabilitation package was discussed in a special cabinet meeting on Sunday amid strong protests against the controversial list of those eligible for rehabilitation. Two estates have been earmarked to rehabilitate the disaster victims. The plan is to prepare modern townships with all facilities at both places. Single-storey houses of 1,000 square feet will be built on land ranging from 5 to 10 cents. A single-storey house can be converted into a two-storey house later.

The government has selected estates in Kalpetta and Nedumbala for the township. As the plantation owners have filed a petition against this in the High Court, efforts are being made to dispose of the petition quickly using the Disaster Management Act. The government hopes that the land issue will be resolved as soon as possible. Thirty-eight organizations have come forward already to build houses for the disaster victims free of charge. The government will invite them to a meeting and discuss matters. First consideration will be given to those who guarantee to complete house construction quickly if land is given. Those who are not interested in taking up the construction of the house can pay the amount needed. It is hoped that the rehabilitation plan will be finalized in the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The rehabilitation project is already long overdue. To prolong it further would be a great injustice to the disaster victims. If the government had been more attentive, the rehabilitation work could have started much earlier. Procedures can be initiated only after getting the necessary land after the lawsuits and quarrels are over. Rehabilitation activities should not be delayed quoting the old saying 'government procedure will take time'. A precise time and schedule should be fixed to move each step forward. It has been decided to entrust the construction of houses to KIIFB. There will also be a committee to supervise.

Problems that may arise during construction should be resolved as soon as possible. Construction of rehabilitation houses should not be prolonged indefinitely like bridge or road construction. Failures and delays incurred by the LIFE scheme should not be incurred in the implementation of the rehabilitation scheme. The pain and tears of the landslide victims should not be allowed to continue for much longer. The non-receipt of funds that were supposed to be provided by the Centre for rehabilitation work is a bigger disaster than the landslide. The centre is delaying assistance in the name of technicality. The government and MPs from the state should keep up the pressure and try to get central assistance.