The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has warned that it may summon the Chief Secretary of Kerala over the failure of the authorities to file the reports giving the correct picture on the reasons for the devastating Wayanad landslides on July 30, 2024.
The Southern Bench of the tribunal, which took suo motu notice of a report on the disaster published in The Hindu, has expressed its displeasure over the response of the authorities while pointing out that the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has not yet filed its report on the landslides.
An order dated March 28, 2025 issued by Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, judicial member, and Satyagopal Korlapati, expert member, stated that the “report of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority would be vital to proceed further.” Neither the said authority nor the District Collectors of Idukki and Wayanad have filed the response in this regard, it stated.
“We only express our displeasure in the way in which the government authorities are responding to this issue, where hundreds of people have lost their lives, either being killed or missed, in the Wayanad hill station,” it said.
The tribunal’s order said the Chief Secretary, who is representing all the departments, will be directed to appear before it by the date of next hearing (June 20, 2025), if the “authorities are not filing their reports giving the correct picture as to the reasons for the disaster and the steps taken by the Department of Disaster Management and the Local Self-Government to prevent any recurrence”.
The tribunal also pointed out that the Forest and Wildlife Department of Kerala and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board had filed their reports only in the month of March 2025, despite its earlier directive issued on September 27, 2024 asking the respondents in the case to file their reports.
Published – April 08, 2025 12:31 pm IST
