How public spirited residents stopped the rape of Muthurajawela Sanctuary
Ad hoc environmental group exposes nexus involving unscrupulous officials, politicians and businessmen: Presidential Investigation Unit launches probe
The P re s i d e n t i a l Investigation Unit (PIU) has launched an inquiry into alleged collusion among government officials regarding the Muthurajawela Sanctuary landfill, which, environmentalists say, has caused irreparable damage to one of the country’s most unique eco systems.
The PIU's Investigations Director Ruban Wickremaarachchi said President Maithripala Sirisena had called for a full report on the alleged involvement of state agencies in facilitating a businessman to encroach on several acres of state land within the sanctuary.
“Several complaints have been made and we are looking into them before action is initiated against those officials who are found to have acted in violation of relevant laws,” he told the Sunday Times.
President Sirisena, who is also the Minister of Environment, visited Muthurajawela on Thursday after environmentalists exposed the landfill taking place within the sanctuary and ordered that all such activities be immediately stopped. The Special Task Force (STF) of the Police was deployed to the 400 acre site. About 30 acres of this land has already been filled.
The destruction taking place within the sanctuary was brought to light by a small group of committed residents. They formed the Organisation for the Protection of Muthurajawela in a bid to expose the racket that was being carried out under the guise of a development project.
Anil Lankapura Jayamaha who heads the organisation said the sanctuary was the lifeline of people in the area and its destruction would lead to serious environmental problems. “We took on the task of exposing the unscrupulous officials, politicians and businessmen involved in the destruction of Muthurajawela. This had led to threats to our lives and our families, but once we committed ourselves to the task, we did not stop till we brought it to the attention of the President,” he said.
“The Muthurajawela sanctuary was declared a protected area by a gazette notification in October, 1996 enclosing an area of about 1285 hectares. However over the years this has not stopped illegal sand mining, hunting and other nefarious activities within it,” he said.
The organisation was galvanised into action last year when the government took a decision to dump garbage at Muthurajawela after the collapse of the garbage dump at Meeethotamulla. A large number of residents supported by the clergy took part in protests against the move, with Jayamaha and his supporters seeking judicial intervention to stop the sanctuary being turned into a garbage dump.
The Supreme Court after entertaining a fundamental rights petition signed by 35 residents in November last year, granted leave to proceed and interim relief to the petitioners by directing the 11 respondents not to dump garbage. The interim order also called for a halt to sand-mining and landfills within the Muthurajawela Sanctuary until the final determination of the application.
The respondents include the Central Environment Authority (CEA), the Urban Development Authority (UDA), the Irrigation Department, the Wi l d l i f e Conservation Department, the Ag r a r i a n D eve l o p m e n t Department, the Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha, the Divisional Secretariat, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau and the Colombo Municipal Council.
However, in gross disregard of this court order, the Agrarian Development Department earlier this month took a decision to grant permission to a private business entity to develop 65,102 perches of land within the sanctuary for Rs 500 per perch at a total cost of Rs 32,551,000.
The organisation's treasurer Dinusha Nanayakkara said that many years ago this area was paddy land and due to the rising salinity levels in the soil, it became difficult to grow paddy.
"As it was once a paddy land, it comes under the purview of the A g r a r i a n D eve l o p m e n t Department which has the authority to give permission to develop this land. But this can only be done with the permission of the CEA and the Wild Life Department after an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is submitted. As far as we know none of these requirements was met before a decision was taken to hand over this land to a private business entity,” he said.
Mr. Nanayakkara explained that, unlike areas which were designated as wildlife parks, which then become wholly state owned, areas declared as sanctuaries consist of both sate-owned land and privately owned properties. Activity can take place in private land as long as it does not cause damage to the environment and harm to flora and fauna. Also hunting is strictly prohibited.
The members of the environmental group decided to go pub- lic about the ongoing destruction taking place in Muthurajawela after their repeated efforts to impress upon government officials in the area as well as the Police on the need to act against the illegal activities within the sanctuary failed. This resulted in Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayaka meeting with members of the organisation this week, following which they were also summoned for a meeting with officials of the President’s Office.
The Pre s i d e n t visited Muthurajawela on Thursday and convened a meeting there with ministers, government officers and the police. Mr. Jayamaha, too, attended the meeting where he explained the harm that was being done to the sanctuary.
They were also shown a short film shot by Mr. Nanayakkara, who is a photographer by profession. “The film was shot using drones and shows the destruction caused to Muthurajawela. Within seven days of uploading it on the
web, we have not only had prompt responses from authorities in this country but also from overseas activists who are against environment destruction," he said.
M r. Jayamaha and Mr. Nanayakkara along with Senaratne Wanasinghe, the Secretary and Srimal Muthukuda, the Assistant Secretary of the organisation have formed a strong bond over their common commitment to safeguard Muthurajawela for future generations. They see the decision by the President to suspend all activities taking place in the sanctuary as a victory but not one which they can take for granted.
“This is only the beginning because those hellbent on destroying the country’s natural habitats are willing to throw money and are connected to the politically powerful. We have to fight many more such battles to save the country’s natural resources from being exploited to serve the interests of a few,” Mr. Jayamaha added.