The DS has issued this land for temporary use : PILF

But this ongoing project doesn’t seem to be a temporary one at all. When the matter was taken up in courts a notice was issued to suspend the work. Therefore, by any chance if the developer resumes work, it would be contempt of court. We have also drafted a petition with seven parties appearing as respondents We filed a case under the complaint number 527/2015 and took up the matter in courts

The Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), a non-profit organisation established in 1999, which highlights environmental issues, has taken legal measures against this project and have filed a case in the Court of Appeal. Speaking to the

, a representative of this organisation who wished to remain anonymous said that they were very much concerned about this issue after it was aired on television last November. “We filed a case under the complaint number 527/2015 and took up the matter in courts. We thought we should take a closer look at this project and when inquired we came to know that it was happening inside the buffer zone of the Sinharaja Forest violating certain laws and regulations. The project is being done at a border of an area which has been marked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I think this is a serious matter to be dealt with. One of the main problems concerning this matter is the fact that there has been no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done addressing the pros and cons it would impose on the environment. The Central Environmental Authority has asked to stop issuing EIAS but to just submit an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) which doesn’t include the public opinion. For an issue like this, the public opinion is very crucial because it is the villagers who will be affected in the end. An IEE is negligible when it comes to a large scale process like this. We are trying to restore this by making a request in courts to introduce the system of drafting EIAS and clarifying the issues when it comes to environmental concerns rather than drafting IEES and white-washing a major part of the issue which needs to be highlighted.”

When inquired further, the PILF has also found that the Divisional Secretary of Kalawana has given this particular stretch of land to the developer through a permit to be used on a temporary basis. “But this ongoing project doesn’t seem to be a temporary one at all. When the matter was taken up in courts a notice was issued to suspend the work. Therefore, by any chance if the developer resumes work, it would be contempt of court. We have also drafted a petition with seven parties appearing as respondents.”