(Lanka-e-News -05.Jan.2016, 6.30AM) While a group of officers of the Navy were preparing to acquire a land 617 acres in extent at Mulaitivu purportedly to build a new Navy camp , the owners of the land had mounted their opposition against it.
When an additional secretary lands , traveled to Mulaitivu from Colombo to hold preliminary discussions with a view to securing lands from the residents of Malaitivu , only 48 owners of lands participated.
All of them had told the officers that they are not under any circumstances prepared to give their lands for the construction of the new Navy camp . They have also given a letter in writing to that effect to the Mulaitivu district secretary
The residents of Mulaitivu say , the officers are requesting back those lands which were used by the security divisions during the period of the war , and were released to the people after the war concluded . These are lands for which the residents have the relevant documents. These lands are requested by the Navy for the construction of the new Navy camp .
Anthony Jeganathan the vice president of the northern provincial council (PC) , and a land owner of Vattuval who attended the dscussion said , the Navy had wanted the land extending from Mulaitivu Wattuwal bridge up to Pudukudiiruppu town , and on the other side from Nandikadal zone to the seashore which is a huge area.
When the land owners argued that land of such great extent is not necessary to establish a Navy camp, the officers had explained that it is not certain whether the proposed land in its entirety will be taken. However Jeganathan said , if the government needs those lands for its purposes , even if the owners oppose ,the government can acquire them .
This land in Mulaitivu is very important from the point of view of the tourist Industry , and the final phase of the war was fought in this area ,meaning that there is a histroic value for it, whereby the land values are shooting up. Hence , the land owners pointed out to the officers they are suspicious that some group is trying to appropriate these lands with deceitful motives by cheating the land owners .
The residents have nevertheless decided that their lands cannot be given for the construction of a Navy camp even if alternative lands are offered or on payment of compensation.
When the Navy media headquarters and the army media headquarters were contacted to gather more information on this porpsed land acqusition , the officers there said , any information in this regard can only be obtained from the secretary to the ministry of defense.
Dinasena Rathugamage from Vavuniya
Translated by Jeff
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by (2016-01-05 01:11:18)
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