Around 672 acres of land controlled by the military in the north and the east for several years have been released to its previous owners, Deputy Minister of Defence, (Retired) Major General Aruna Jayasekera stated. 

Confirming this in the Parliament yesterday (23), he stated that the released lands include 86.24 acres of private lands and 586 acres of land that were used by the military. He also said that 34.58 acres of Government lands have been released in the Eastern Province alone.

He further stated that the release of lands followed the submission of the relevant information to the National Security Council and the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security.