No one will be allowed to carry out any development work in the Muthurajawela Sanctuary, State Minister for Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure Nimal Lanza said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the carpeting and development of the Negombo Wellaveediya road last Saturday (16).
“We learnt from the media that an unauthorised hotel complex was going to be built in the Muthurajawela Reserve. It should be clearly stated that no one is allowed to carry out any development work in the Muthurajawela Sanctuary, which has been internationally recognised. The water from the low-lying areas of the Gampaha district flows into this area. This area is connected to the Negombo Lagoon also. Therefore, no development work would be allowed here. We read that the Cardinal had also expressed his views in this regard. We agree with the Cardinal and say that we do not want to see any development in the area,” the State Minister said.
“We are now in the process of digging the unauthorized filling in the reserve. We have informed the Agrarian Development Department, the Wildlife Department and other relevant institutions to inform us if there are any unauthorized filling in these areas. All these will be dug up by our machinery and restored to their original condition,” he said.
