Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday said the UDF government was committed to proceeding with the Anakkampoyil tunnel road project in Wayanad, where a landslide claimed eight lives in July, while ensuring construction could continue safely.

Work at the project site was halted following the landslide, and an expert committee was constituted to examine how the project could proceed without a recurrence of such an incident, Satheesan said in the state Assembly.

He was responding to a submission by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA C K Kasim, who represents the Thiruvambady constituency, seeking government intervention to restart the project, which is envisaged as an alternative to the Thamarassery Ghat road connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.

Kasim said the Thamarassery Ghat road could not handle the volume of vehicular traffic passing through it, leading to frequent, hours-long traffic jams that caused discomfort to commuters, including patients travelling to Kozhikode Medical College for treatment.

The MLA said work on the tunnel project had been stopped following the landslide and urged the CM to take steps to resume construction after addressing the shortcomings and problems, and putting adequate precautions and safety measures in place to ensure that the project could be completed within a stipulated timeframe.

Replying to Kasim, Satheesan said the Anakkampoyil tunnel road was a major project envisaged as an alternative to the Thamarassery Ghat road. He said he had been criticised during the elections for demanding a proper EIA study before work began.

"I never said I was against it. I had demanded that the project not be implemented without the necessary Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study, as it is an ecologically sensitive area where the soil composition is very fragile. It is a place where landslides and landslips can occur during heavy rainfall.

"When I had sought that an EIA study be conducted, I was attacked by everyone. The work began in August 2025 and the landslide occurred in July 2026, leading to the project being halted," the CM said.

He said the government was obligated to ensure that construction was carried out safely and that the risk of a disaster was minimised.

An expert committee was therefore constituted to examine the possibility of landslides, the proximity of groundwater, the impact of rainfall, and the adverse effects of the construction work on the surrounding area and the project site, and to recommend the necessary safety measures, he said.

He said the panel was constituted because no supervisory agency was monitoring the tunnel construction, which had been awarded to Konkan Railways.

"We need to ensure the work is carried out in accordance with the conditions in the environmental clearance given by the Centre. The panel's report has been delayed as various information sought from Konkan Railways and other sub-contractors was not supplied on time.

"The government has no intention of stopping the tunnel work. It only wants to ensure that another disaster does not occur while the work is going on. As soon as the panel's report is received, the government will take a decision on how to move ahead with the work without endangering anyone," Satheesan contended.

Eight people were killed in the landslide that occurred on July 7 at the site of the Anakkampoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which is intended to connect Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.