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Govt. to acquire controversial Sinharaja land

19 Mar 2021

  • 1,500 acres including hotly debated 7 acres 

  • Probe into harassment of activist 

  The Government would be acquiring approximately 1,500 acres of private land within the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, including the seven acres which have been at the centre of controversy over the past few days following allegations from a Rakwana resident. “The current position of the Government is to take over this land to the Sinharaja Forest as soon as possible. The Government is focusing on acquiring 1,500 acres including this seven-acre land,” said Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, while speaking at the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) on its 118th anniversary yesterday (18). A resident from Rakwana recently claimed that deforestation inside the Sinharaja Forest Reserve was occurring at a rapid rate, due to negligence by the relevant authorities. This led to serious concerns and allegations being raised across both the social and electronic media about the said seven-acre land, in which certain development activity is taking place at present. Meanwhile, The Morning also spoke to Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation C.B. Rathnayake on Wednesday (17), who said that new conditions and regulations would be introduced regarding development in private lands inside environmentally sensitive areas such as the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. Following the allegations, the resident also claimed that she had faced harassment and threats from various quarters. On Wednesday, the Socialist Youth Union (SYU) held a silent protest in front of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) in Colombo, against the alleged harassment. In response, Amaraweera yesterday said that a full investigation would be carried out into the aforementioned allegations, and that the Government would take a final decision regarding this incident by next week. The Sinharaja Rainforest, located in the Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces, covers an area of 18,900 acres and is home to over 50% of the country’s endemic species. It was declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1988.  

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