At the Eastern Province (EP) Development Committee meeting chaired by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, it was revealed that large tracts of land in the EP had been arbitrarily given to various parties.
It was revealed that land had been given to places of worship in the Trincomalee District sans any formal procedures, while a large amount of land, allocated for the Mahaweli development project in the Batticaloa District, has been re-gazetted as a Reserve for the Wildlife Department.
It was also revealed that 3,065 acres requested by the Thiriyaya Temple was later reduced to 265 acres, by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
A request had been made for 100 acres for the Arisimale temple and a letter issued to the Buddhist monk in charge of that temple.
Also, 27 perches of land has been requested for Boralukanda Rajamaha Vihara to develop it as a sacred area. After the regime change in 2015, efforts were made to change the initially identified area, due to separatist influences, and upon inquiry from the District Secretariat, it was intended to re-survey and settle the issue. A letter sent by one R.A.D. Sirisena, in this regard, also caught the attention of the President.
Also, 45,000 acres gazetted in 1985, for the Mahaweli Development Project, at the borders of the Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts, has now been gazetted as a reserve for the Wildlife Department. The basis for this land, earmarked for the development project, to be turned into a wildlife reserve, is yet to be revealed. Committee members were of the view this amounted to land grabbing.
Accordingly, the President ordered the officials to submit a report to him within a week, regarding the allocation of land in the EP, for the period 2019-2023.