More than 90 percent of military acquired lands returned to owners in the North
The Sri Lanka Army has released more than 90 percent of military acquired lands in the Northern Province to the original owners under the direction of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Presidential Secretariat said.
The Secretariat said that, on January 21, the army delivered documents to release 1201.88 acres, including state and private land, which was previously used by the army.
After accepting these documents from Army Commander Lt General Mahesh Senanayake during his visit to Mullaitivu to launch the ‘ National Drug Eradication Week’, President Sirisena handed them over to the Governor and district secretaries.
The lands that were returned last week included 972 acres of state land in Kilinochchi and 120 acres of state land in Mullaitivu, where the Army had been running farms. Similarly, 46.11 acres of state land and 63.77 acres of private land in Jaffna and the Wanni were also released, the Presidential Secretariat disclosed.
Lands belonging to the Nachchikuda, Vellankulam and Udayarkattu Army farms were also released.
Meanwhile, the release claimed that the army had reported back to the President that they were working towards an “amicable solution”, in consultation with civilians, regarding the lands occupied by the army in the Keppapilavu area in the Mullaitivu District.
Over 87,800 acres of land occupied by the armed forces had been released over the past 10 years, the release further stated.
The release also quoted Northern Province Governor Dr Suren Raghavan as stating that the people who wanted these lands released were solely focused on getting these lands back from the military, but had no mechanism for the future of these army-run farms.
Dr Raghavan, who only recently took office, has stated that there does not seem to be a prepared mechanism in place prior to demanding the release of the farms. As part of a long- term strategy, the governor has proposed that the farmlands be converted to cooperative societies.
“I need to look at the legalities in either the short-term or long- term leasing of these farms to the same people who were operating them thus far. Then these workers can continue the farms and their lifestyle, but with some measure of Government supervision and control. That supervision can either be by the Agriculture Ministry of the Northern Province, or some of these workers who are there,” the Governor explained.
He added that his proposal would be to have the workers work their farmer-owned cooperative farmlands. This way they would not have to be moved elsewhere and their lives would not be disrupted. However, they need to have a reporting mechanism, Dr Raghavan said.