Supreme Court says no further relief possible in Uma Oya case

Colombo, January 13 (Daily Mirror) - The Supreme Court has ruled that there is no further relief the government can provide in relation to the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project, stating that it is pointless to continue the case.

According to the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), the Uma Oya project was implemented without properly following Sri Lanka’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, resulting in severe environmental damage and hardship to affected communities. The CEJ filed the case on behalf of residents of the Uma Oya area, and the matter was heard before the Supreme Court on several occasions over the years.

The project, constructed between Welimada–Diyaraba and Ella–Karandagolla, experienced major water leakages and soil subsidence during construction. At its peak, around 3.6 million litres of water per hour reportedly leaked through the tunnel, causing nearly 3,000 houses and buildings to sink or face the risk of collapse.

Residents in several areas of the Badulla District, including Welimada, Bandarawela, Puhulpola, Makulella, Heeloya, and surrounding areas, were severely affected. Wells dried up, and access to drinking water became a major issue for many communities.

Affected residents demanded compensation for the losses caused by the project, which was carried out in a sensitive mountainous region. The situation led to widespread public protests. Subsequently, steps were taken to provide compensation, including what was reported to be the highest compensation paid for crop damage in Sri Lanka, along with relief under several water-related projects.

The Supreme Court, when the case was taken up on Wednesday, January 11, observed that respondents and previous governments had already provided various forms of relief to the petitioners during the 11 years the case was before court. Based on the facts presented, the Court ruled that there was no indication that the government could offer any additional relief.

Although the current government appointed a Cabinet committee after assuming office to look into the matter, the public has not been informed of any decisions taken by that committee.

Attorney-at-Law Sawanthi Ponnamperuma appeared in court with Senior Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare, on the advice of Attorney-at-Law Nilmal Wickramasinghe, in support of the affected residents.