Kerala floods ‘man-made’, claims Congress MLA; minister calls audio clip ‘AI-generated’

As public campaigning concludes in Kerala today, Congress MLA and Muvattupuzha UDF candidate Mathew Kuzhalnadan has alleged that the devastating floods that struck the state in 2018 were “man-made”.

Kuzhalnadan released an audio clip as evidence, in which a person, purportedly Minister K. Krishnankutty, is heard claiming that Mathew T. Thomas, who served as water resources minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, sacrificed the state to benefit private companies and accepted bribes in the process.

“There is a general mindset in Kerala that when a government system shows some inefficiency, makes a mistake, or commits an error, it is seen as forgivable. This is the prevailing attitude of society in Kerala, and, unfortunately, even of our courts,” Kuzhalnadan said before releasing the audio.

“When it comes to the floods, people may say there were minor issues in flood management or dam management. They may describe them as small lapses. But if you examine how and why those problems occurred, the shocking reality is this: it was the greed—indeed, the excessive greed—for crores among those in the Pinarayi Vijayan government that brought Kerala to this state of devastation. I want to state this clearly and with responsibility: it is the corruption and plunder of the Pinarayi government that caused the floods in Kerala to be this severe.”

Both Krishnankutty and Mathew T. Thomas belong to the Indian Socialist Janata Dal (ISJD), formed after breaking away from the JD(S). In 2018, Krishnankutty became water resources minister after Mathew T. Thomas resigned, as per an understanding within their party at the time, the JD(S). Krishnankutty later served as electricity minister in the second Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet.

Kuzhalnadan addressed the press in the presence of Krishnankutty’s former staff member, Prabhat. In the audio clip, the person, purportedly Krishnankutty, says that Mathew T. Thomas had a role in delaying the opening of the Thottappally spillway, which is critical for flood control in Kerala. The recording claims that the delay was intended to prevent sand deposits downstream from being washed away—a move that would benefit a private contractor. The person further alleges that Mathew T. Thomas made crores from the deal.

The Central Water Commission’s study on the Kerala floods noted that, given the high rainfall in August 2018, the absence of adequate upstream storage reservoirs, the reduced carrying capacity of Vembanad Lake, and the diminished capacity of the Thottappally spillway may have worsened flooding in the Kuttanad region.

The person in the audio clip also claims that Mathew T. Thomas enabled measures that allowed private entities to make excess profits from the Maniyar project, part of the Pamba Irrigation Project, which in turn contributed to flooding and destruction in Chengannur and surrounding areas. It further alleges that similar actions at the Peringalkuthu Dam led to the Chalakudy river overflowing and causing widespread damage.

Mathew T. Thomas, who is contesting as the LDF candidate in Thiruvalla, termed the allegations baseless and said there was no need to reply to Kushalnadan’s claims. He said he was confident that the people of Kerala would reject the allegations. He also pointed out that the Central Water Commission and technical experts from IIT Madras had studied the floods and submitted reports. “The allegations made by Mathew Kuzhalnadan lack credibility. The people of Kerala know me,” he told the media, while reiterating that the floods were caused by extremely heavy rainfall.

THE WEEK has not independently verified the authenticity of the audio clip released by Kuzhalnadan.

The Opposition had alleged earlier too that the Kerala floods were not a natural calamity but a man-made disaster, and had raised it on the assembly floor too.

Krishnankutty pointed out that when the issue was discussed in the assembly, Kuzhalnadan had not raised these points. He alleged that the claims are being made now with an eye on the polling day (April 9).

Krishnankutty also suggested that the audio clip could be AI-generated. Responding to questions about a former staff member attending Kuzhalnadan’s press conference, he said the individual was no longer with the party and had been expelled for raising unnecessary issues and exerting pressure.

Krishnankutty added that Mathew T. Thomas is a person of integrity and that the matter would be examined, and added that legal action will be taken against Kuzhalnadan if needed.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, too, responded in his press meet along similar lines, stating that experts had already concluded that the Kerala floods were not man-made, and the rest are all just allegations.