Vijayan rebuts CM Satheesan on Wayanad tunnel clearance, demands accountability for mudslide, toll rises

Kalpetta (Kerala), July 9 (IANS) Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition, Pinarayi Vijayan, on Thursday mounted a sharp attack on Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan over his remarks on the environmental clearance granted to the Wayanad tunnel road project, accusing the government of attempting to create a controversy to divert attention from administrative lapses that may have contributed to the devastating mudslide at Kalladi.

The tunnel project was cleared by Vijayan when he was the Chief Minister and he inaugurated the tunnel construction early this year.

Addressing reporters after visiting the disaster site, Vijayan said the Chief Minister’s claim that the environmental clearance had been secured through questionable means was factually incorrect.

The clearance, he said, followed a transparent process that began with detailed scientific studies in 2023 and received approvals from both the state and Central governments.

He pointed out that the Kerala High Court had dismissed petitions challenging the environmental clearance on December 16, 2025, and that the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the verdict.

Alleging that the clearance was obtained through pressure or manipulation amounted to disregarding judicial findings, he said.

“Instead of shifting the blame onto others, ministers should explain how lapses occurred,” Vijayan said.

Questioning the handling of the project, he said a high-level meeting had earlier directed that excavated soil from the tunnel project be removed.

“How was that decision overturned? Who is responsible?” he asked.

According to him, the excavated earth left piled up at the site mixed with soil that came crashing down from the hill, aggravating the mudslide.

At the same time, he maintained that the tunnel road project itself was of immense importance and held the potential to transform connectivity and development in Wayanad.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the tragedy climbed to six on Thursday after rescue teams recovered three more bodies from the debris.

Two people remain missing.

The mudslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on the Wayanad end of the tunnel road project is under way.

Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire and Rescue Services, police, Forest Department and local volunteers continued the search with the help of excavators and other heavy machinery, despite intermittent rain and unstable terrain that hampered operations.

Vijayan also drew attention to the condition of inmates at relief camps, saying many lacked adequate clothing, with several women still wearing the clothes they had on when the disaster struck.

Offering condolences to the families of those killed, he assured the government of the opposition’s full cooperation in rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts.

The latest tragedy has once again renewed concerns over Wayanad’s fragile hill ecology, the execution of infrastructure projects in ecologically sensitive areas, and the state’s disaster preparedness.

In a related development, the Kerala High Court took up the issue suo moto and asked the Advocate General to give a complete and detailed account of the entire incidents that took place at the accident site.

–IANS

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