Rights panel orders rehabilitation after Vaniyampuzha tribal families spend 7 years in plastic tents
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered the urgent rehabilitation of 26 tribal families who have lived in makeshift tents since the 2019 floods. The commission intervened after reports highlighted the lack of permanent housing and basic facilities for these families.
Why it matters
It addresses systemic failures in disaster recovery and the protection of marginalized communities' rights.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed authorities to urgently rehabilitate Paniya tribal families living in makeshift tarpaulin shelters at Vaniyampuzha, across the Chaliyar river at Munderi in Pothukal panchayat of Nilambur taluk. As many as 26 families have been living in plastic tents since the August 2019 floods destroyed their homes.
Commission judicial member K. Baijunath directed the Malappuram Collector and the Scheduled Tribes Development Department Project Officer to submit a report within a week on the rehabilitation measures taken, the current status and the steps planned to complete the process within a fixed timeline.
Although the floods destroyed two concrete bridges connecting the tribal hamlets across the Chaliyar near Munderi seven years ago, one has since been rebuilt and is awaiting inauguration.
Children from Vaniyampuzha and neighbouring hamlets attend schools at Munderi, Nettikkulam and Pothukal. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN
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