TNA MP Nirmalanathan highlights land problem in Mannar | Daily News

TNA MP Nirmalanathan highlights land problem in Mannar

Over 50 families in the Thevan Patti area in the Mannar district still don’t have access to proper lands, said TNA Parliamentarian Charles Nirmalanathan.

Joining the Committee Stage debate in Parliament yesterday, he said, when the government changed in 2016, there was a public notice issued by the Wildlife Department of the district about the availability of 29,000 hectares of land, which adds up to 72,000 acres when seen in the GPS map.

He stated that he had personally spoken to the authorities concerned, yet nothing has been done in the area.

“People are living on lands which are owned by their ancestors; and even from that a certain percentage is being used by the government officials in that area.In the same area, there is an individual who has 14 acres of land, and families who have absolutely no land. Authorities have tried to get the land from this individual, but cannot do so, due to his political connections. The authorities are scared to interfere.”

The families depend on the land for their livelihoods, such as farming and cultivations. “I have sent a letter to Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa to look into this matter, as it has prolonged for long enough”.

Nirmalanathan added, that in the Omanthai area of the Vavuniya district, 750 government servants were given lands in 2009.


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