Moves are being made to amend laws and Acts to handover environmentally sensitive lands to multinational companies, a group of environmentalists and activists charged yesterday. Speaking at a forum titled ‘Our Land is Not For Sale’, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform said the government is going ahead with these moves in violation of its national policy framework. He said the government, with the intervention of the Executive, is systematically attempting to suppress the people’s opposition to the moves that are detrimental to the environment. “The Gama Samaga Pilisandarak is such a move. Through the programme, people are given lands in forest reserves. When there’s opposition to giving lands to companies, the authorities can say people have also been given lands. That’s the opinion they are going to popularize,” he said. Chamikara said a land area of 7,000 acres from the Handapanagala Tank reserve would be given to Pelwatte sugar company to cultivate sugar canes. He also said plans have been made to award 80,000 acres including forest areas from Moneragala, Anuradhapura and Badulla Districts to a company to cultivate maize. Fr. Rohan Silva OMI, Herman Kumara, Anil Jayamaha, D. M. D. Abeyratne and Chameera Perera also spoke at the forum which was held at the Centre for Society & Religion, Maradana.