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New Indian Express

Kerala's monsoon miseries: Unchecked growth and land abuse to blame

It has been raining heavily in Kerala since the second week of June. Rivers have been overflowing, low-lying areas have been inundated and normal life has been thrown out of gear. Going by the weather forecasts, the south-west monsoon, which arrived a little early on May 23, will gather momentum in the coming days. People are hugely worried about impending flooding and landslides. There was a time when Kerala eagerly awaited the arrival of the monsoon because it provided a big relief from the scorching summer and replenished the water table. But rain became a nightmare almost a decade ago. People's worries were compounded after the 2018 floods and the 2024 Wayanad landslides. How did this transformation happen? We asked this question to Kerala's prominent environmental activist SP Ravi and disaster management expert KG Thara. They said the scale of flood disasters in Kerala is no longer driven by rainfall alone, but by decades of unchecked development and widespread land use changes across the Western Ghats, midlands, and coastal zones. Ravi pointed out that widespread reclamation of paddy fields has significantly reduced the land's natural capacity to absorb rainwater. 'These reclaimed fields, which once acted as crucial water buffers, now channel excess rain directly into rivers, causing them to swell rapidly and increasing the risk of flooding,' he said. In 1971, Kerala had 8.75 lakh hectares of paddy fields. It has now shrunken to two lakh hectares. Ravi said Kerala's monsoon pattern has been shifting since the beginning of the millennium, but the changes went largely unnoticed. He cited successive droughts in 2003 and 2004 and extreme rainfall in 2007, 2013 and 2018 as pointers to a shift in the monsoon's behaviour. Since 2016, anomalies have become more frequent and severe, he said. 'That year saw the lowest rainfall in over a century, while Cyclone Ockhi in late 2017 shattered the long-standing belief that Kerala is safe from cyclonic impacts. Then came the catastrophic floods of 2018, affecting 12 out of 14 districts, followed by Cyclone Gaja, which originated in the Bay of Bengal and crossed the Western Ghats to impact Kerala,' he said. After the devastating floods of 2018, Kerala saw repeat floods in 2019, with northern districts like Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram suffering even worse devastation. 'Unlike the steady build-up of rains in 2018, 2019 saw a sharp turnaround. By late July, rainfall was 35% deficient, but this gap was erased in just a week of torrential downpours between August 6 and 13,' he said. Importance of urban planning Thara, who headed the state's Disaster Management Centre, blamed Kerala's urban planning failures for the increase in natural disasters. 'Kerala witnessed an 11.13% rise in built-up area in 2023, marking the highest building density per square kilometre in the past eight years. Tourist hotspots like Munnar, which saw nearly 17 lakh tourist influx recently, are facing immense pressure on their fragile ecosystems,' she said. Despite initiating studies on carrying capacity in ecologically sensitive regions like Munnar, recent policy changes raise concerns over sustainable development. 'In 2023, the Kerala Land Assignment Act of the 1960s was amended to empower the government to regularise illegal constructions. As a result, 226 unauthorised buildings in Munnar were legalised, undermining conservation efforts and raising alarm among environmentalists,' Thara said. She explained that Kerala's varied topography makes it highly vulnerable to landslides. 'Around 35% of the state lies at elevations below 50 metres, while 25% is situated above 500 metres. The remaining 40%, falling between 50 to 500 metres, is particularly prone to moderate to high-intensity landslides, raising concerns amid changing rainfall patterns and land-use practices.' Experts said the damage along national highways in Kerala is a clear case of a man-made disaster. Despite repeated warnings from locals about the region's vulnerability, such as landslide-prone slopes and disrupted river flows, construction went ahead, ignoring concerns. 'The disconnect between ground realities and expert decisions underscores the importance of public participation in planning. It's exactly what Madhav Gadgil emphasised in his report -- micro-zonation and demarcation of eco-sensitive zones in consultation with local bodies. Unfortunately, his recommendations were misrepresented as anti-development, leading to opposition. In hindsight, had his guidelines been followed, the environmental damage we see today could have been far less severe,' she said. The setting up of major infrastructure in ecologically sensitive areas, such as the Cochin International Airport on the floodplains of the Periyar River, has compounded the risks. 'Highway construction, especially NH66, has altered natural drainage, leaving many homes inundated each year,' Ravi said. Diminishing forest cover Ravi said Kerala, which had nearly 60% forest cover two centuries ago, now has less than 15% natural forest. 'Despite the forest department controlling over a quarter of the state's land, much of it is degraded or replaced by monoculture plantations, which no longer function as natural rain absorbers. In the past, evergreen forests and grasslands slowed the flow of rainwater, allowing it to percolate through the soil gradually. Today, with much of the Western Ghats denuded, rainfall rapidly turns into surface runoff, greatly increasing flood volumes and impacts, especially in vulnerable regions,' he said. Ravi observed that Kerala has made significant strides in disaster response and preparedness. Institutions like the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA), and local-level rapid response teams are now better equipped to handle emergencies. 'Communities, too, are playing an increasingly active role. Citizens in basins like Meenachil, Wayanad, and Chalakudy are engaged in real-time weather and river monitoring in collaboration with local governments and disaster authorities,' he said. Since the 2018 floods, dam management has improved, with major reservoirs like Idukki, Kakki, and Malampuzha implementing threshold curves and controlling early releases to reduce flood risks. However, this practice is not yet standardised across all dams, especially smaller ones. The state also lacks an integrated reservoir management strategy for multi-dam basins, which is crucial for coordinated water release during intense rainfall. Ravi said despite the improvement in all these matters, interstate dam management conflicts, particularly involving Tamil Nadu-controlled reservoirs in the Periyar and Chalakudy basins, remain a challenge, often resulting in unannounced water releases that jeopardise downstream communities. The construction of dams like Idukki led to reduced downstream monsoon flow, encouraging unchecked settlements along riverbanks. Over time, this urban encroachment has narrowed river channels and disrupted tributary flow, intensifying flood risks during extreme rainfall events. He warned that certain flood-prone areas experience inundation year after year. Long-term relocation of vulnerable populations is urgently needed to prevent recurring hardship. On the landslide front, sensitive zones still require targeted interventions and strategic relocation plans. Importance of Gadgil report The recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Committee on Western Ghats conservation have been progressively diluted by successive governments. The Kasturirangan Committee, set up later, reduced the eco-sensitive zones from over 90% to around 35–40%, relying heavily on satellite imagery with minimal field verification. This led to serious mismatches. Areas like rubber plantations were wrongly classified as eco-sensitive, while ecologically critical natural forests were excluded. 'A further review by Kasturirangan diluted the report even more, resulting in only a small fraction of the Western Ghats now falling under protected zones, far from the ecological reality. Experts now call for micro-level mapping with active local participation, arguing that community insights are vital for accurate ecological classification,' Dr Thara said. What needs to be done? Experts stressed the urgent need for a Kerala-specific land use policy and micro-level disaster zonation, grounded in public participation and traditional wisdom. They argue that developmental models from foreign nations or other Indian states cannot be blindly replicated in Kerala, given the state's unique ecological vulnerabilities. 'Despite Kerala's exposure to multiple natural hazards, the state lacks a comprehensive building strategy tailored for vulnerable areas. While there are codal provisions for cyclones, earthquakes, and floods individually, there is no integrated, multi-hazard-resistant building code. This gap is not unique to Kerala, but a nationwide challenge in disaster management. Sustainable growth must be rooted in local realities,' Dr Thara said. She also emphasised the importance of Kerala-specific land-use planning and micro-level disaster zonation and added that, 'We can't blindly adopt international models. What works in Norway or the US won't necessarily work in our ecologically fragile terrain. We must integrate traditional wisdom and local participation into development plans.' 'Disasters will occur,' said Thara. 'But the real tragedy is when we fail to learn from them.'