Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the state government to ensure the ex-gratia amounts are paid on time to the next of kin of those who died in the Wayanad landslide and the persons injured in the incident.

The direction was issued by a bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Preeta A K, which also sought a report from the government on when the work at the construction site was stopped and why the workers were present there if all activity had been put on hold there.

The directions were issued by the bench in a petition initiated by the High Court on its own in 2024, following the landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages in Wayanad district in July that year which had claimed over 200 lives, for prevention and management of natural disasters in Kerala.

Besides quick disbursal of the payable ex-gratia amounts, the bench also directed the government to ensure that the bodies of the deceased are handed over to their respective families without much delay.

The court also said that the ex-gratia payments and the treatment costs of the injured can be charged to the account of the tunnel project for now.

"We can decide later from whom the amount should be recovered," it added.

The government told the bench that cadaver dogs were unable to find the bodies due to the muck and slush in the area and therefore, human labour was being used to search for those missing.

It also told the court that except for external work, all other activities were ordered to be stopped at the site by an order of May 25.

Subsequently, on July 5, it was ordered to stop all work at the site, the government said.

"Then what were the workers doing at the worksite?" the bench asked and sought a response by the next date of hearing.

On Friday, the death toll in the landslide rose to seven after another body was recovered from the disaster site.

A landslide occurred on July 7 at the site of the Anakkompoyil Meppadi tunnel project, which is intended to connect Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.