Financial aid will be ensured for families to be relocated from landslide-prone areas in Puthenchira: Minister K. Rajan

Revenue Minister K. Rajan has informed the State Assembly that financial assistance will be ensured for families that need to be relocated from the landslide-prone areas of Puthenchira village in Thrissur district.

He was responding to a submission raised by Kodungallur MLA V.R. Sunil Kumar on Tuesday.

The Minister said that following the floods and landslides in 2018 and 2019, the government had decided to relocate residents living in areas identified as “vulnerable to landslides and soil erosion”. At the district level, a special team comprising a geologist, soil conservation officer, and Groundwater department officials was formed to identify such high-risk locations.

Once the team’s report confirms the risk, affected residents will be relocated to safer areas. Families without land elsewhere in the State will receive up to ₹10 lakh as assistance — combining funds from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) — to either purchase land with a house or to buy land for the purpose of building a house.

“In Puthenchira village, 26 families have been included in the list of those requiring relocation. Out of these, six families have already identified suitable plots of land. Two families have been sanctioned ₹10 lakh each, and orders have been issued to sanction ₹10 lakh each to the remaining four families from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” Mr. Rajan said.

He further promised that the remaining 20 families would also receive the same financial support once they locate suitable land and submit the required documents.