Eighteen acres cleared on forged permits:
Court directs probe against businessman:
The Additional Magistrate of Anuradhapura, Kanchana Narthana Abhimani Seneviratne has directed Anuradhapura Range Forest Officer Sumith Suvaris to initiate legal proceedings against a businessman accused of clearing 18 acres in the Mihintale Forest Reserve in the Maradankulama area, and illegally attempting to acquire an additional six acres by setting it on fire. The Forest Conservation Department highlighted that all four permits allegedly associated with the land are fraudulent.
Consequently, the Additional Magistrate has further instructed Ranger Suvaris to file a complaint with the Anuradhapura Special Crime Investigation Division and pursue further legal action.
During the Court proceedings for case number B/123/2024, Suvaris reported that the accused businessman had unlawfully cleared and destroyed portions of the land within the Mihintale Divisional Secretariat Division’s No. 586, Grama Seva Thulane. He also presented evidence of the accused having forged documents purporting ownership. The Range Forest Officer informed Court that a written inquiry conducted by the Director General of Forest Conservation with the Divisional Secretary of Mihintale revealed inconsistencies in the permits provided by the defendant. Assistant Divisional Secretary M.M.K.Chandragupta, on behalf of Divisional Secretary N.B.J.A. Nayaka Bandara, communicated that the Mihintale Divisional Secretariat holds no records or documents supporting the licences claimed by the accused.
Further, the Court was informed that one of the authorisation papers bore a signature falsely attributed to the former District Secretary of Anuradhapura, T.K.Dasanayake. Sirimevan Dharmasena, the former Mihintale Divisional Secretary, confirmed in writing to the Director General of Forest Conservation that the signature was not that of former District Secretary Dasanayake’s.
Upali Ananda