A group of members of the Maha Sangha along with several laymen yesterday wrapped a Crudia zeylanica (Panu Karanda) tree with a robe as the species is thought to be on the verge of extinction.
The members of the Maha Sangha said that they ‘ordained’ the critically endangered endemic tree with the objective of protecting it from being destroyed for the construction of the Kadawatha – Mirigama Expressway.
Meanwhile, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) in a statement yesterday said that the Authority has written to the Road Development Authority (RDA) last month requesting a detailed report on the proposed action on the Crudia zeylanica plant, which is threatened with extinction, located at Daraluwa in Gampaha. This is one of the only two such trees in the country.
The release said the CEA has acted correctly within its ambit on the issue of the tree. The release undersigned by CEA Chairman S. Amarasinghe said the information of the plant surfaced only in November 2019, but the CEA had approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the section from Kadawatha to Meerigama of the Central Expressway in September 2016 based on the report provided by the undertakers of the Project.
“Once the tree was identified while the construction was going on, the CEA conducted a field study at the location together with the Wildlife Conservation Department, the RDA and the National Botanical Gardens Department on December 31, 2019. Thereafter, the CEA was informed that the Wildlife Department instructed the RDA to relocate this tree at another suitable location. The RDA had also informed us of several other locations where this plant exists. The CEA wrote to the RDA on January 5, 2021 requesting to inform its proposed action on this particular tree in Daraluwa,” the CEA stated in the release.
