The Kerala High Court has asked the State government to constitute a high-level committee to look into the request of the residents of Kavalappara village, whose holdings were washed away in a landslip in 2019, either to restore their lands to the original position or sufficiently compensate them for the loss of crops and land.
The petitioners had contended that they were left without any succour, though some attempts were made by the government to hear them out and offer small benefits. They contended that the government initiative was insufficient and a comprehensive plan will have to be worked out to either restore the lands or to compensate them appropriately.
Justice Devan Ramachandran, who considered the petition, directed that the high-level committee shall be chaired by the Principal Secretary, Revenue department. It shall have experts drawn from the fields of geology, hydrology, agriculture, and disaster management as its members.
The committee, which shall be constituted within two months, shall hear each of the petitioners, along with others who are similarly situated, and a final and comprehensive plan shall be prepared in three months, the court directed.
The committee and the State government shall dispassionately assess the contentions of the petitioners by considering the fact that they have long been suffering without any other support in life and hence deserved the empathy of the community at large, the court held.
