The alleged development of structural cracks in some houses built as part of a rehabilitation town in Wayanad, Kerala, has evolved into a direct political confrontation between the opposition UDF and the ruling LDF over the quality of construction.
A day after Revenue Minister K Rajan personally inspected some housing units in the township set up in Kalpetta and rejected allegations of structural cracks, Leader of the Opposition V D Sathisan claimed that it is the job of engineers, not the Revenue Minister, to determine whether there are structural defects in the construction of houses.
Sathisan also criticized the LDF government for inaugurating the first phase of the town and handing over some houses to landslide survivors despite the works not being fully completed.
“The government has shown hypocrisy regarding Wayanad town, which is causing the landslide. The houses inaugurated by the Prime Minister do not even have water and electricity connections. Weeks after the inauguration, the intended beneficiaries have not been able to stay in those houses,” the UDF chief said.
He said, “The inauguration ceremony was just a trick to deceive the people before the elections. If the work had been completed, the keys would have been handed over to the people the next day.”
Sathisean also described the Revenue Minister’s inspection of alleged cracks in the walls of some houses as a “drama”. He wondered: “He stood on the desktop to inspect the cracks. Who is he to inspect them? Isn’t this the job of engineers?”
After inspecting some homes on Saturday, Rajan explained that no homes had been handed over to those affected by the disaster. He said that only land titles had been transferred.
Rajan said the government will take all measures to overcome construction deficiencies and will put the onus on Uralungal Contract Labor Cooperative Society (ULCCS) to address issues of structural defects if complaints arise.
Meanwhile, V Sivankutty, a minister and leader of the Communist Party of India, denied allegations of structural defects in the houses. “These are just lies. Congress promised to build more than 100 houses in the town but was unable to build a single house,” he said.
On March 1, CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the first phase of the town with houses for 178 families. Once the project is completed, the town near Kalpetta will have 410 single-storey houses on seven cents of land each.
Apart from the houses, the town is set to have an anganwadi, a primary health centre, a market and recreational areas.
