The Kerala Government has decided to declare individuals missing in the Mundakkai, Churalmala landslides as deceased. This decision aims to facilitate financial aid distribution to their families, as previously announced for deceased victims.

On Tuesday, the state government issued directives to form committees that will oversee the necessary procedures to officially declare the missing as deceased.

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According to the directive, two committees will be responsible for the investigations: a local-level committee and a state-level committee.

The local-level committee will consist of the village officer, panchayat secretary, and the Station House Officer (SHO) of the local police station.

This committee will conduct detailed inquiries and submit their findings to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

Once the DDMA forwards a case, the state-level committee, comprising principal secretaries from the Home, Revenue Disaster Management, and Local Self-Government departments, will review the findings and provide final approval.

A structured procedure will be followed to obtain permanent death certificates. A list of missing persons will be published, and the sub-collector will investigate each case.

The public will have a 30-day window to submit additional information. Details of the missing individuals will be widely publicized through newspapers, websites, and local notice boards.

After this period, the sub-collector will officially declare the missing persons as deceased, enabling panchayat secretaries to issue death certificates.

The government has also outlined additional steps to process these declarations. An FIR must be filed by the closest relative of the missing person at the local police station where the individual resided.

If the disappearance occurred in a different jurisdiction, the FIR should be referred to the respective police station. The relative’s notarized statement will be retained as a permanent record.

These measures aim to bring closure to affected families and ensure they receive the assistance they are entitled to following this tragedy.