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LTTE grabbed 2,000 acres of land in North: PTF

03 Apr 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The LTTE is known to have taken over more than 2,000 acres of residential properties belonging to Muslims in the North and given them to its supporters during the war, officials said yesterday.

They said this had resulted in the government having to find alternative land to resettle the displaced Muslims.

S.B. Divaratne, who heads the Presidential Task Force overseeing resettlement, said the lands grabbed by the LTTE had been occupied by some people for more than ten years and therefore there were practical difficulties when it came to moving the occupants out of these lands.

He said though some 23,000 Muslims families, displaced from their original places of residence had consented to be resettled in the North after the war ended, nearly 15,000 had been resettled, particularly in the Mannar district.

“We want to resettle the remaining 8,000 families as well. Yet, their lands are occupied by others. We cannot take back these lands. Instead, we have to find them alternative lands elsewhere in the North,” Mr. Divaratne said.

He said some Sinhala families, displaced from the North also wanted to return to their original lands.

“We have to resettle them in Mannar and Vavuniya South. There are about 2,500 families registered with us. After the war was over, we prioritized the resettlement of Tamils. Now, we are focusing more on displaced Muslim and Sinhala families,” Mr. Divaratne said.

The government has decided to allocate a percentage of the housing units constructed with India’s assistance to Muslim and Sinhala returnees. India had agreed to build 50,000 houses in the North.(Kelum Bandara)

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LTTE grabbed 2,000 acres of land in North: PTF

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