Kerala’s twin tunnel project with an eye on tourism draws flak after landslide in the area

The massive landslide in Kerala’s Wayanad, the crown of which is close to the mouth of a proposed four-lane underground twin tunnel, has raised questions about the rationale behind the project which the Kerala government is reportedly pursuing to improve tourism in the region. The proposed tunnel is expected to be third-largest in India. The pathway will connect Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode and Meppadi in Wayanad — where the landslide took place — and is expected to bring down the distance between the two districts from 85 km to 54 km. Not just activists and environmentalists, even the government's own impact assessment report has said that the land in the area is unstable. "The crown of the landslide is close to the proposed mouth of the tunnel in Vellarimala," said N Badushah, president of Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, a collective that has been campaigning against the project citing the ecological fragility of the Western Ghats mountains it cuts through..The tunnel project connecting the existing Major District Road (MDR) (Anakkampoyil-Muthappanpuzha-Marippuzha road) to State Highway (SH) 59 (Meppadi-Kalladi-Chooralmala road) was drawn up by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government as an alternative to the Thamarasserry Ghat road, which witnesses frequent accidents and traffic snarls and is seen as an impediment to the development of Wayanad district.Badushah told TNM that the mouth of the proposed tunnel road is close to the Meenakshi bridge near Kalladi in Meppadi where the state government has acquired 4.82 acres of land spread across the villages of Kottappadi and Meppadi.The Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC) has granted stage 1 forest clearance for the 7.64 km tunnel project. The state government has maintained that the project does not need environmental clearance. The land acquisition for the project, which has an estimated cost of Rs 1,643 crore, is almost complete, and the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), which prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR), floated tenders in May 2024. When completed, it is expected to be the third-largest tunnel in the country.“Boring tunnels through thick granite may not be an issue technically, but the soil over the hills is unstable”, said CK Vishnudas, who works with the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife in Kalpetta. Puthumala, on the western slope of Vellarimala (literally Silver Hill), witnessed a massive landslide in 2019, leading to 17 deaths. Many families were rendered homeless."Two major landslide disasters in the same hill ranges and so many avoidable deaths, and the government still wants to take the tunnel road project that drills through the same unstable and vulnerable mountains? Only seriously sick or unscrupulously corrupt leaders can think of this. This project would be a disaster," said Sridhar Radhakrishnan, an observer and writer on development and policy related to environment and agriculture.The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the project acknowledges that the project area in Meppadi is landslide-prone and has suggested measures to minimise risk. It also noted that Thiruvambady panchayat from where the tunnel originates has a high percentage of unstable and critical areas.In May 2024, the State Expert Panel Committee (SEAC) noted that the twin tunnel project could also aggravate human-wildlife conflict in Wayanad.The Vellarimala region is quite scenic, attracting tourists on a large scale. It also has several resorts and homestays. The biodiverse region is also home to the Banasura laughingthrush, a songbird also known as Banasura Chilappan. The government's interest in developing this tunnel is to aid tourism in the region. "But tourism activity is unsustainable,” warns Badushah, “Many of the resorts here have come up illegally. Some of them have even built glass bridges on cliffs without authorisation." The tunnel road will shorten the road distance between Kozhikode and Wayanad to 54 km and help increase the flow of tourists. Wayanad has a total population of 8.17 lakh people but the district witnessed a tourist footfall of more than double the figure in 2023.The proposed twin tunnel and the prospects of increased tourism activity had given hope to residents of the area as they anticipate more development in the region and better livelihood opportunities. .Invest in journalism that makes a difference. Subscribe to TNM and pay to keep the news free.