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Alleged ‘deforestation’ of vedda lands, CEA terms it ‘a political problem’

10 Feb 2021

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) is of the view that if the Mahaweli Authority – to which it has granted permission to cultivate maize in lands that do not have a forest cover – cultivates maize on lands that are also in reality the dwelling places of the veddas, the country’s indigenous first nation people, then such would constitute a “political problem”. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (9), CEA Chairman Siripala Amarasinghe said that the CEA has given permission to the Mahaweli Authority to cultivate maize in lands that do not have a forest cover. Responding to a question about the ethics of cultivation in land that is traditionally owned by vedda tribes, he said that since the CEA’s permission had been given to the Mahaweli Authority, if it is traditional vedda lands, then it would constitute a political problem. However, Mahaweli Authority Deputy Director General D. Gunapala told The Morning that since the relevant land is within the areas gazetted under the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka Act, they are permitted to use it. He further mentioned that the land had been given to private companies on a one-year lease. Previously on Monday (8), the Chief of the indigenous veddas, Uruwarige Wannila Aththo, and the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) filed a petition with the Court of Appeal against the alleged illegal deforestation at the Rambakan Oya Reservoir near the Pollebedda village, a traditional homeland of the veddas, by the Mahaweli Authority. Speaking to The Morning, CEJ Chairman Ravindranath Dabare claimed that approximately 500 hectares of land had been illegally cleared in the Pollebedda village by the Mahaweli Authority for maize cultivation. “The Mahaweli Authority has no power to do such a thing because an environmental impact assessment (EIA) has not been conducted by the CEA. These are also traditional lands belonging to the vedda community,” said Dabare. Dabare further said the Mahaweli Authority had given the lands to private companies. The petition states that although the CEA has granted approval for the alleged projects via the Mahaweli Authority, this had blatantly violated the provisions of the National Environmental Act since an EIA has not been obtained. The petition also claims that maize cultivation could lead to environmental damage such as the pollution of spring water with pesticides, which would eventually run into the Rambakan Oya Reservoir and lead to kidney and liver-related diseases, as is prevalent in agricultural areas of the country. Moreover, the petition states that since the livelihood of the vedda population inhabiting the village largely depends on the forest, it would be detrimental to remove the forest cover in the area. The CEA, the Mahaweli Authority, the Forests Department, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), the Minister for Wildlife and Forest Conservation, the private company responsible for the clearing of the land, and the Attorney General have been named as the seven respondents to the petition.


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