THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The opposition Congress on Tuesday accused the Left government in Kerala of showing laxity in the rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide victims and cited its "indifferent" attitude towards a letter from Karnataka authorities offering 100 houses.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government failed to respond positively to Karnataka's promise, the Congress alleged, calling it a "serious situation" that Kerala did not even acknowledge the letter sent by Karnataka in this regard.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, in a strongly worded statement, accused the Kerala government of committing a "crime" comparable to the central government's neglect of Wayanad.
"The Kerala government is adopting an extremely irresponsible approach to Wayanad rehabilitation. It is disgraceful that the state government showed indifference to Karnataka's letter promising 100 houses for landslide survivors," he said.
Satheesan further said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had to personally write to his Kerala counterpart after Kerala's Chief Secretary failed to respond to earlier correspondence.
"It is shocking that the state government is ignoring the pain of people who have lost their homes and property," he added.
The Congress leader urged the Vijayan government to either acquire land immediately for building houses for survivors or allow those offering assistance to purchase land and begin construction independently.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is scheduled to hold a meeting on December 17 to plan protests against the state government’s inaction in rehabilitation efforts, Satheesan added.
The criticism comes a day after Siddaramaiah expressed concern over the lack of communication from Kerala regarding guidelines to implement their offer of 100 houses in landslide-hit Wayanad.
In a December 9 letter to Vijayan, Siddaramaiah reiterated his government’s commitment to support affected families by purchasing land and constructing houses in Wayanad, a promise made during his visit to the region following the devastating landslides in July.
The Karnataka CM stated that this promise had been communicated to Kerala's Chief Secretary but lamented the absence of a response, which has delayed progress.
The landslides that struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30 left over 200 people dead and many others injured, nearly wiping out both areas.