The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed Hantex to construct a protective wall around a dangerous well on its property in Balaramapuram after the collapse damaged an adjoining compound wall and about 1.5 cents of private land, creating a continuing safety risk.
The commission’s chairperson, Justice Alexander Thomas, said Hantex could not avoid responsibility by citing financial difficulties. The panel said the complainant could approach the competent court if the organisation failed to act.
The directive followed a complaint by a woman from AKG Nagar in Peroorkada. According to her complaint, the well on Hantex-owned land adjoining her property had collapsed, causing part of her compound wall and a section of her land to cave in and fall into the well.
Hantex told the commission that it had written to the district collector on September 26, 2023, seeking financial assistance under the disaster management plan to address the dangerous condition of the well. The organisation said no action had been taken on that request.
A report submitted by Hantex also stated that its governing body had decided at a meeting on September 9, 2024, to submit a proposal to the district panchayat for converting the well into a swimming pool with the district panchayat’s assistance. The possibility of using the well for a drinking water project was also considered.
Both proposals faced institutional obstacles. The Balaramapuram grama panchayat secretary informed the commission that the Kerala Water Authority had found the drinking water project unfeasible. The district panchayat secretary said the well could not be converted into a swimming pool because the land on which it stood had not been transferred to the district panchayat.
The reports submitted to the commission said a meeting convened under the leadership of the district collector had already decided that Hantex should protect the dangerous well by constructing a wall. The human rights panel has now directed the organisation to take the necessary measures to prevent further damage and ensure public safety.
The case places responsibility for a hazardous site at the centre of local administration, particularly where land ownership, disaster-management assistance and possible public-use proposals have delayed a basic safety intervention. The commission’s direction identifies protective construction as the immediate requirement, rather than waiting for the proposed alternative uses of the well to be resolved.
