KALPETTA : The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in Wayanad has decided not to allow construction of resorts, tourist villas, tourist bungalows, service villas, homestays and tourist apartments in landslide-prone areas in the district. The DDMA has also restricted construction of residential, educational or industrial buildings as well as hospitals that are two-storey with a height of eight metres in such areas.
The built-up space of such buildings shall not exceed 200 square metres. Buildings other than resorts and tourist villas in landslide-prone areas are to be permitted only after rigorous scrutiny. All un-registered lodges should be closed down within three months.
Further, the DDMA has asked local self-government bodies to reconsider the existing permits based on the report of the expert committee and renew permits only if they comply with the corrective actions suggested by the expert committee.
No quarrying and mining activities are permitted in landslide-prone areas. If there any such units functioning, they should be closed down within a month. Also, tahasildars and GP secretaries should ensure that quarries functioning on the outskirts of landslide-prone areas have valid permits and licences.
Re-assessment of the probability of landslips within a radius of one kilometre of all quarries in the district should be carried out within three months, said the DDMA. Geologist should thoroughly examine all incidents of landslips, landslides and soil piping within a one-km radius of quarries. No mechanised excavation of earth is to be permitted at any landslide-prone area.
Also, no construction or land development blocking the natural flow of water is to be allowed. All existing buildings with more than 200 sq.m area in landslide-prone areas and buildings having more than five floors and situated in flood-prone areas or within 500 metres from areas where building collapse cases have been reported in the past five years shall be scrutinised by an expert committee, said DDMA authorities.
The committee comprises the DDMA Chairman who is also the District Collector, district town planner, district soil conservation officer and experts from Kozhikode CWRDM, NIT Calicut and NCESS Thiruvananthapuram.