President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the security forces to accelerate the return of land in the Northern and Eastern Provinces that was taken over during the armed conflict and is no longer needed for security purposes.
The President gave the instruction at a discussion held at the Parliamentary Complex on Thursday (20) on speeding up the release of private land acquired to build military camps during the conflict, along with State land that local communities had previously used.
Tri-Forces to determine what is retained
Dissanayake said national security remained paramount, and that deciding where military camps and other security installations are genuinely required is the responsibility of the Tri-Forces, the Police and other security authorities.
On that basis, he told officials to reach a final determination on which lands can be released and which must be retained.
The President called for a people-centred approach in assessing how much land is essential for security, and asked officials to release the maximum area that can be returned to the public.
Livelihoods alongside land
Dissanayake also stressed that returning land must come with a means of earning from it. He instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to introduce projects using modern agricultural technology capable of higher productivity and of creating sustainable livelihoods for returning families.
Land held by the military in the former conflict zone has remained one of the most persistent grievances in the North and East, with families in some divisions displaced from private plots for well over a decade. Successive governments have released land in tranches, and the process has run alongside a continuing demining programme in the two provinces.
