By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Environmentalists have urged the Government to offer a permanent solution for the temporarily-halted land distribution in the Knuckles Mountains. Fears over a possible reoccurrence of land grabbing have surfaced due to the Government's inability to take policy decisions on the matter. They alleged that the illegal project was halted following the protests launched by them and villagers and therefore, there were possibilities that they would restart it once people forget the issue over time. In the past few years, environmentalists claimed that about 21,000 acres of land belonging to the Knuckles Mountain or ‘Dumbara Range’, managed by the State Plantations Corporation and Elkaduwa Plantation Ltd., had been given to several close associates of two cabinet ministers in order to carry out various projects. The project was temporarily halted in June following media publicity on the matter. They alleged that the illegal activity was conducted by Minister Lakshman Kiriella and Kabir Hashim. However, both ministers denied the allegations. According to the Movement for Land and Agriculture Reform (MONLAR),  a total of 6,192 of 9,675 hectares belonged to the State Plantations Corporation and 2,363 of 3,693 hectares belonged to Elkaduwa Plantation Ltd. from the lands attached to the boundary of the Knuckles Conservation Forest. A total of 21,400 acres was given to these minister-associates. MONLAR Executive Director Sajeewa Chamikara said these lands had been given to several companies including a large-scale chicken farm, mineral mining of quarts, and a large-scale hotel project, by violating the provisions of the National Environmental Act. Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the ‘Gratec’ Sri Lanka Environmental Organisation Gamini Jayatissa told The Morning that they had already requested the Government to stop the distribution of land through a Cabinet decision instead of giving it a temporary solution. “The land grabbing should be stopped by a gazette notification,” he added. The two plantations, which owned the controversial lands, accepted that the majority of these lands were barren lands and therefore the Government should implement a project to reforest the lands considering the environmental importance of the area, Jayatissa said. He said that his organisation was ready to buy the lands, reforest, and to give them back to the Government. The Knuckles Mountains or Dumbara Range is a special biodiversity zone which contains climatic variations and is the water catchment area of the Mahaweli River. However, the area has been continuously exposed to illegal land acquisition and environmental damage for nearly ten years.