Authorities facilitate land grab in Wandama-Demaliya State Forest Reserve

The picture shows an area of the land inside forest reserves that has been grabbed by private companies with the support of prominent politicians

An area which remains uninvaded within Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve

Land grab in the proposed Wandama-Demaliya State Forest Reserve has been gathering momentum and much has been talked and written about it. Continual representations of environmental organizations to the relevant authorities in this regard and their requests to carry out a formal audit of land illegally occupied by the racketeers have fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile the Department of Forest Conservation (DFC) had instituted legal action against a private sector company that had seized 500 acres of the proposed forest reserve by political favour. However the company occupying the land area had been ejected due to a court order.

However, the senior officials of the DFC with the approval of the Commissioner General of Land had surreptitiously alienated that land to the respondent company itself. 

Environmental and the Civil Society organizations have underscored that this action amounted to contempt of court and created a bad precedent to the department.

 They reiterated that it is the duty of the present government as promised to look into this land grab. The land grabbing activity has been going on unchecked in Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve and in the Monaragala district under the pretext of development. They pointed out that land alienation in the forest reserves had continued thanks to political favour.

Senior government officials and the DFC are involved in the land grab at the instigation of politicians.

Illegal occupation of land in Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve, which includes the proposed elephant management area in Buttala Division in the Monaragala District, had been going on unchecked. It escalated after 1998. Two leading private companies with the support of prominent politicians of the government in power seized vast areas of the forest reserve. 

The government alienated land to a multinational company under the pretext of Banana cultivation and the other to a Sri Lankan company for the cultivation of mangoes. Investigations revealed that several senior officials of the DFC were involved in this racket.

Wandama-Demaliya state forest, bounded by Lunugamwehera, Yala and Udawalawe National Parks is an area teeming with wild elephants and other wild animals. The elephant corridors leading to these national parks run through Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve. Forest Conservators have pointed out that Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve is the abode and the breeding ground of more than 80 wild elephants. They maintain that Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve with a dense wild elephant population is the abode of the most number of tuskers.

An Environmentalist and Representative of Soba Foundation in the Monaragala district Anura Wickremasinhe, who expressed concern about the wanton destruction of forest reserves in the area, said that Wandama-Demaliya-through which the elephant corridors from Panama, Kumana, Lunugamwehera, Udawalalwa and Yala sanctuaries run, should have been protected as virgin forest. 

“The step taken by the Forest Conservation Department has created a bad precedent. The parties involved in this are responsible for a serious crime. They should not have vested the land with the respondent company that admitted their guilt before court and restored it to the state in pursuance of the court order”

- Jagath Gunawardana, Environmental Lawyer and Environmentalist

The following is a letter written by the Director General of Department of Wildlife Conservation to the Land Commissioner General notifying that the land, inside the Wandama-Demaliya Forest Reserve, which was grabbed by a private company has been handed over to the former after court case which dragged on for 10 years

“Annually herds of about 800-900 wild elephants roam into the national parks through these elephant corridors. This resulted in the decision to fashion it as an Elephant Management Forest Reserve. However it is sad that the proposed Elephant Management Forest Reserve has been left to the mercy of the racketeers. They clear the forest, erect electric fences and sell them for exorbitant prices. This has deprived the wild elephants of their natural habitat and breeding ground. 

2500 hectares of forest seized

Former Forest Conservator General Anura Sathurusinghe was the first to reveal that a multinational company and a Sri Lankan Company chaired by a leading businessman have seized more than 2500 hectares of the Wandama-Demaliya state forest under the pretext of cultivating banana and mango.

He pointed out that 400 hectares in Kudaoya Grama Niladhari area in Wellawaya Division and 200 hectares in Rahathangama Grama Niladhari area in Buttala Division, have been seized illegally by the multinational company. He said another Sri Lankan company has seized 200 hectares in Wandama Forest Reserve for mango cultivation.  

 The former Conservator General said that these unauthorised projects had been launched in 2008. 

“Forest conservators had taken legal action against this land grab and the court decided in favour of the Department. However the officials had not taken further steps to acquire the land. About two years later, a Monaragala District Forest Conservator sought the approval of the Conservator General to alienate the land area occupied by the companies. The senior officials denied any knowledge of this deal that had been done through political favour. However when this issue was exposed, the senior officials put the blame on subordinate officers. 

Deputy Forest Conservator alienated 500 acres of forests to a company without any knowledge of the minister and the Conservator General.

Prior to the request made to the Monaragala District Conservator of Forests for approval to alienate land illegally occupied by the company, the latter had made a separate request to the Conservator General on June 01, 2010 to issue 200 hectares from Wandama- Demodara area and 300 hectares from Wandama- Kudaoya area. 

This company, located at Rajamawatha in Buttala, belonged to a close confidante of a prominent politician of the area. A copy of their request letter had been referred on June 16, 2010 to the Monaragala District Forest Conservator.  This official had called for a report from Wellawaya Range Forest Officer who on December 07, 2010 recommended the issue of 450 hectares of land to the company. This report had been kept away from to the Senior Deputy Conservator General.

The picture shows elephants roaming on land destroyed by man

The land grab in this area has reduced territory for wild elephants

 In pursuance of this report, Senior Deputy Conservator of Forests Planning and Progress Control S.A.D. Kingsley carried out an inspection of the land illegally occupied by the company.

Later he had informed the company and the District Forest Conservator by his letter No. P/M/08/02/14/14 of 03.01.2011 that the Conservator General of Forests had decided to alienate 200 hectares of land from Wandama- Demaliya State Forest in Rahathangama Grama Niladhari area in Buttala.  

However a survey carried out by the Monaragala District Survey Superintendent revealed that the company had seized a land area of 18.08 hectares in addition to the land area which the Deputy Forest Conservator claimed to have approved by the Conservator General. However it has been revealed that the Conservator General of Forests had not approved the issue of 200 hectares of land in the Kudaoya area to the company for banana cultivation.

Subsequent investigations revealed that it was a serious malpractice on the part of the Deputy Conservator General S.A.D. Kingsley to have issued a letter informing that Conservator General of Forests had approved the grant of 200 hectares of land to the company. Investigations revealed that Buttala and Wellawaya Divisional Secretaries had ordered the Survey General’s Department to survey the land based on a fake letter. 

However the FCD ignored this malpractice under political pressure. 

Divisional Secretaries involved?

Monaragala Soba Foundation pointed out that the Divisional Secretaries in Wellawaya and Buttala were involved in this irregularity. 

 FCD’s Investigation of land grant on forged Senior Deputy Forest Conservator (Environmental Management) Mahinda Seneviratne and Deputy Forest Conservator Uva and Central Zones Wasantha Dissanayake initiated an investigation of 2000 acres of land being seized by a Multinational Company and another 500 acres by a local company through political favour and the connivance of senior officials of the FCD.

Legal action against the two companies 

However the ejection notice submitted to the Conservator General on April 13, 2013 for signature, had not been signed by him. 

During the time of the Conservator General Anura Sathurusinhge, the Department instituted legal action against the two companies. 

After the inspection of the forest area that was cleared and occupied by the two companies, he instructed the District Forest Conservator to institute legal action and reclaim the illegally occupied land. 

The two companies made a complaint to the then Prime Minister and Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade regarding the legal action taken by the Forest Department.

 Consequently, Secretary to the Prime Minister E.M.S.B. Ekanayaka and Minister Malik Samarawickrema consulted the Conservator General in this regard.

Conservator General on January 25, 2015 informed that the two companies had been registered with the Sri Lanka Board of Investments (BOI) and as such the department agreed to come to a settlement on this issue subject to three conditions in consultation with the Prime Minister and his consultant.

Under the conditional settlement of the issue proposed by the Conservator General by his letter:

(1) The two companies should admit before court that the forest area occupied by them were state forests that came within the purview of the DFC and the ownership should be restored to the Department. 

(02) After restoring the illegally occupied forest area to the Department, the environmental damage caused by them should be estimated and paid to the department.

(03) The department would provide facilities to carry on the projects without obstacles under an annual grant system subject to the cabinet approval and the provisions of the Forest Conservation Ordinance. 

.Meanwhile, Minister Samarawickrema on September 19, 2015 submitted a cabinet paper to regularise the occupation of state land in Kudaoya and Demodara area by the two companies.

He had sought cabinet approval to delegate powers to the Conservator General to release these land to the two companies and to instruct the department to sign the relevant agreement with the Central Environmental Authority. The cabinet had granted approval to the proposal.

Despite the court order to eject the two companies from the state forests occupied by them, it could not be implemented in view of this cabinet decision. 

Meanwhile the Conservator General K.M.L Bandara had on August 16, 2021 informed the Land Commissioner that in pursuance of the court order the company restored 500 acres to the Forest Conservation Department and requested the Land Commissioner to take over the land.

However, the Conservator General had taken steps to vest the 500 acres of land to the company itself through the Buttala Divisional Secretary. 

Meanwhile the other company occupying 2000 aces of state land has appealed against Wellawaya Magistrate’s order to eject them. The case has been pending for several years and the FCD Officials have allowed the postponement of the case by not attending court sessions.

Environmentalists said that a conspiracy was being hatched by the senior officials of the Forest Conservation Department to allow the company to gain possession of 2000 acres of land.

A Senior Environmental Lawyer and Environmentalist Jagath Gunawardana said it was serious injustice to alienate the land to the individual, who seized it illegally, instead of taking legal action and punish him under the common law of the country. 

“The step taken by the Forest Conservation Department has created a bad precedent. The parties involved in this are responsible for a serious crime. They should not have vested the land with the respondent company that admitted their guilt before court and restored it to the state in pursuance of the court order. This amounts to contempt of court,” he further said. 

Although the Conservator General claims to have taken action on the advice of the Attorney General, the residents of the area and the environmental organizations are of opinion that the grant of 500 acres of land to the respondent company had gone by political favour. 

 They stressed the need of a probe into this underhand deal and to nab the politicians and the corrupt officials involved. They said they are hopeful that the present government would comply with their promise to end corruption and malpractice.

“The case in the high court has been pending”- Conservator General

This newspaper inquired from the Conservator General W.W.M.P.S.C. Palamkumbura regarding the land grab in Wandama- Demaliya State Forest and the circumstance that led to the grant of 500 acres land to the respondent company despite the court order to eject them. 

Commenting on the issue, the Conservator General said that the DFC had instituted legal action against the two companies and obtained ejection orders and that one of the companies had restored the land occupied by them while the other appealed to the High Court against the Magistrate’s ejection order.

“The case in the high court has been pending. In view of the government’s decision and on the Attorney General’s advice, the Forest Conservation Department vested the land in question with the Land Commissioner. However the Land Commissioner has alienated it to the company through the Divisional Secretary,” he further said.