• Environmentalists urge to enforce SC order on elephant corridors

Environmentalists have welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to declare 682 hectares in Galgamuwa, Kurunegala, as the Nakolagane Wildlife Sanctuary, but have warned that commercial electric fences obstructing elephant movement must be removed immediately to fully enforce a 2026 Supreme Court order.

Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Chairman Hemantha Withanage, a petitioner in the case, told The Daily Morning that the decision gave effect to the court’s verdict.

Cabinet Spokesperson Dr Nalinda Jayatissa announced yesterday (13) that the Cabinet had approved the declaration under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.

The move follows a Supreme Court order directing that the entire area, including approximately 55 hectares of cleared land and the remaining forest, be declared a sanctuary or an elephant management reserve under Section 2(2) of the Ordinance. A joint survey by the Survey Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) subsequently identified the 682 hectares.

The proposal, submitted by the Minister of Environment, was approved with the concurrence of the Irrigation Department. The sanctuary’s boundaries also take into account the maximum water level of the nearby Palukadawala Tank.

“We are very pleased that through this court judgment, the decision to convert this forest expanse in the upper catchment of Palukadawala Wewa into a protected sanctuary is being carried out,” Withanage said.

However, he warned that obstacles remained on the ground. While villagers had voluntarily dismantled their electric fences, plans had been underway just two weeks earlier to erect fences around two separate land plots, he said. Wildlife officers confiscated the fencing equipment and materials after the CEJ alerted the DWC.

“Our position is that the electric fences surrounding the mango plantation and another location are still in place. We firmly believe these must be dismantled immediately and the execution of the court order must be expedited,” he said.

Withanage said the area had faced encroachment for nearly 30 years. He alleged that the incumbent monk of the ancient Nakolagane Purana Rajamaha Viharaya had claimed ownership of the land through a historical deed (Sannasa) and leased forest areas for commercial cultivation, including mango and papaya plantations, chena farming and solar energy projects.

He said fences erected by commercial operators had severed vital elephant routes, effectively depriving elephants of habitat in the upper catchments of Palukadawala Wewa and Atharagalla Wewa.

Several environmental organisations had petitioned the Supreme Court to halt forest clearing, alleging that commercial cultivation, mineral mining and soil excavation had caused environmental damage and worsened human-elephant conflict in the North-Western Province. Withanage and Dilena Pathragoda were key petitioners representing affected residents.

The judgment also directed the DWC, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the North Western Provincial Environmental Authority (NWPEA) to publish public apologies in national newspapers over past regulatory lapses.

Withanage said the DWC Director General and the CEA had complied, but the petitioners had yet to receive confirmation that the NWPEA, the eighth respondent, had done so. The CEJ has also lodged complaints with local police to ensure compliance and prevent unlawful fencing attempts.