Extremely heavy rain triggered a series of landslides in the hilly areas of Wayanad. But the destruction of the hilly forests in the midst of the Western Ghats, aggravated the destruction.
According to the landslide atlas released by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) National Remote Sensing Centre last year, 10 out of the 30 most landslide-prone districts in India were in Kerala, with Wayanad ranked 13th.
It stated that 0.09 million square kilometres in the Western Ghats and the Konkan hills (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra) were prone to landslides.
A study published by Springer in 2021 said all landslide hotspots in Kerala were in the Western Ghats region and concentrated in Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.
The southeast Arabian Sea is becoming warmer, causing atmospheric instability above this region, including Kerala. With climate change, the rain-bearing belt with deep clouds is extending southward, which is the main reason behind such extremely heavy rainfall.
Kerala has a history of natural disasters due to climate change. The 2018 floods, the worst the State has seen in a century, caused 483 deaths and extensive damage.
The tragedy continued in 2019 with a landslide in Puthumala, Wayanad, claiming 17 lives. In 2021, landslides and heavy rains resulted in 53 deaths, and in 2022, further landslides and floods caused 18 deaths and significant property damage.
This is the story of the entire Western Ghats, which is a recognised UNESCO heritage site. The Western Ghats, which is among 36 global biodiversity hotspots, saw a loss of 5% evergreen forest cover with an increase of 4.5% built-up cover, and 9% agriculture area, according to a study by the Institute of Science’s Energy and Wetlands Research Group.
Activities like rampant stone quarrying, construction of infrastructure in fragile areas and deforestation for commercial plantation have led to massive changes in the Ghats, causing landslides, floods, droughts and other events in which hundreds have died.
The devastating landslides has also brought back the focus on the 13-year-old Madhav Gadgil-panel report on Western Ghats. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, also known as the Gadgil Commission after its chairman Madhav Gadgil, was an environmental research commission appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. The commission submitted the report to the Government of India on August 31, 2011. But its recommendations were never implemented.
The report warned against activities such as indiscriminate quarrying and construction in Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) of the Western Ghats, including regions like Wayanad.
The report recommended a complete ban on new urban development in the Western Ghats region to prevent habitat destruction and pollution.
It also recommended designating the entire region as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). Almost all developmental activities like mining, construction of thermal power plants and dams were to stop along with the decommissioning of similar projects that have completed their shelf life in ESZ 1.
Hill States in the North, like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, are also having the same story of ecological destruction, resulting in floods and landslides almost every monsoon, killing hundreds of people.
Goa is not very far from a major disaster. Random hill cutting, chopping of trees, rampant sand mining, reclamation of fields and water bodies have done enough damage already. All this is happening under political patronage.
The politician-builder nexus is destroying our country’s natural heritage. In Goa, the State government was adamant upon introducing the contentious Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024, which had to be withdrawn due to intense public and media pressure.
The proposed bill gave overriding powers to the TCP, which did not require NOCs from other departments for conversion of land. The amendment also sought to bar jurisdiction of courts. All these provisions had the potential to allow unchecked construction activities, leading to unprecedented damage to ecology.
We are already reeling under the impact of extreme climate events, which is going to intensify further. If the destruction of our natural heritage is not stopped, then doomsday won’t be far away. But are we ready to learn the lessons?