Rebuffing social media criticism on Wilpattu deforestation, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday reiterated in Parliament that no forest area adjacent to Wilpattu was cleared for resettlement after 2012.
He also urged the authorities to investigate the matter and punish any politician responsible for deforestation in Wilpattu.
The minister further complained that three tourist hotels are located inside the Wilpattu National Park and some lands near the Kajuwatte area near Wilpattu are being cleared. “I ask the authorities to look into them,” he said.
He was responding to a question raised by JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as to whether any forest land in the buffer zone of Wilpattu National Park is being cleared again.
Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training and Skills Development Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said that forest lands released in 2012 for resettlement of war-displaced families were near the Mannar boarder while Wilpattu National Park is situated in the Anuradhapura and Puttalam districts.
“The forest lands adjacent to Wilpattu were gazetted as forest reserves in 2012. After that 2,600 acres of them were released by the Forest Conservation Department following a recommendation by a committee appointed by then Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
The people were resettled after checking the electoral registers in the 1990s. Since then, not an inch of land in the area was released. The recent social media campaign against me was based on misleading and wrong information,” said Minister Bathiudeen.
He also complained that the social media smear campaign against him started after he expressed concerns of the people in Puttalam on the Aruwakkalu project.
“Even in 2012, it was the relevant lands that were cleared by the Divisional Secretariat. Please hold an inquiry into this. I am ready to face any punishment, if I have done any wrong. You may even appoint a Parliament Select Committee for that purpose,” he said.
Former Environment Minister and UPFA MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said that Minister Bathiudeen requested that some lands in Musali be released when he was the subject minister and even requested additional lands stating that there are more people to be resettled.
“I declined the second request. I am aware that some extent of reserve forest lands was used to broaden the villages when I was the Minister,” he added.
Minister Bathiudeen pointed out that the President appointed a Committee to look in to the allegations of deforestation in Wilpattu but the report was not made public after it was handed over to the President.
Leader of the House and Minister Lakshman Kiriella said that he does not object to the land release for resettlement after the war by the previous government as it was done on humanitarian grounds.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, observing that the Auditor General has also submitted a report on Wilpattu, said that it would be taken up at the relevant oversight committee.
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