New Delhi: The recent devastating and worst floods that hit Kerala was predicted in time by top environment experts as they claimed that their warnings were not at all paid attention to by politicians who are always seen eager to make money from projects.

The monsoon brought the worst floods to the state of Kerala the first such nearly in a century that have resulted in more than 410 deaths since the condition started in June.

Kerala is famous for having 44 rivers along with backwaters, lagoons, and lakes that are seen running parallel to the Arabian Sea.

The reports by environment experts back in 2011 stated that the state of Kerala was ill-prepared for any monsoon calamity and that a mega-monsoon was inevitable in the near future. Muralee Thummarukudy, an expert in disaster response for United Nations and Madhav Gadgil, an ecologist were the main persons who issued such a warning.

In a similar way, critics assert that the government of Kerala and Centre combined ignored serious environmental issues as they were busy pushing for power plants, hotel resorts, new housing and coal mines.

Many lakes and wetlands that absorb floods and floods have all disappeared and the newly constructed concrete buildings concentrate water in excess in certain areas and make it difficult to drain away.

In a 2013 article, Mr. Thummarukudy predicted that a flood disaster is in waiting and called for changes in land utilization. Back in 1924, thousands of deaths occurred due to floods and in the article, Mr. Thummarukudy said that such calamities may get repeated for every 50 or 100 years.

“Change in land use planning is always difficult in every country because both private property rights and large amounts of money are involved. So I was not surprised that such changes were not made,” he told AFP.

“I am very sad that my predictions about floods in Kerala came true with tragic loss of life.”

To increase the number of international tourists, the governments in Kerala had in recent years promoted the state’s palm tree-lined beaches and lush plantations aggressively and as a result, foreign arrivals increased up to the double of previous visits in 2017.

But the unplanned rush to gain revenue has resulted in violations of coastal planning regulations.

According to Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who had previously sought for a ban on new mining and industrial activities in Kerala in a 2011 report, commented over the disaster in Kerala by saying that man-made activities are responsible for a key role in the huge disaster.

But despite all those warnings by experts went in vain due to the political and corporate lobbying that pushed for their selfish goals thus ignoring the recommendations and resorts mushroomed all along the coasts and rivers especially for the wealthy people.

“Unfortunately, our state governments are in collusion with vested interests that do not want any environmental laws to be implemented,” Mr. Gadgil told AFP.

“Our recommendations would have been accepted in any law-abiding society. But we have a lawless society and extremely poor governance,” he said.

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