Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devalaya illegally leases out Forest Conservation lands to businessmen

Dishan Gunasekara, Basnayaka Nilame of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya, has illegally acquired over 150 acres of forestland that belongs to the Department of Forest Conservation and are connected to the Udawalawa National Park, and that serves as water catchment forests of Kukulkatuwa and Bodagama tanks located in the Bodagama and the Kivul Aara Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Thanamalwila Divisional Secretary's Division, and is involved in a large-scale racket of leasing out those lands to various businessmen. K.H.A. Kelum Nishantha, Divisional Secretary, Thanamalwila, and the officers of the Thanamalwila Range Forest Office of the Department of Forest Conservation have provided their support to run this racket. H.M.R.C.K. Bandara, who is in charge of the Land Division of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya is handling the operation of this racket. Through this racket, which has been being carried out in a very organized manner for several years, lands that belong to the Department of Forest Conservation have been leased out on 35-year lease basis to a few persons including one named C.P. Deshika from Ranna area and a businessman named Prabhath from Ratnapura area. All these forestlands that have been leased out in this manner are habitats for wild elephants.

In addition to these forestlands that belong to the Department of Forest Conservation, some lands that had been being cultivated by several farmers for a long time have also been forcibly acquired claiming that those lands belong to the Kataragama Devalaya and have been leased out to businessmen. Consequently, some of the farmers who have lost their lands in this manner, have been compelled to clear the state-owned forestlands managed by the Department of Forest Conservation in order to expand their farmlands.

Apart from that, Jagath Pushpakumara, former Member of Parliament and Shasheendra Rajapaksa, State Minister of Irrigation, too, had distributed lands in this area belonging to the Department of Forest Conversation among their relatives and friends prior to this. Accordingly, it has been revealed that the said illegal forestland racket has been taking place for many years in a very organized manner with the sanction of the Department of Forest Conservation as well.

The businessmen who have obtained the said state-owned forestlands illegally on lease basis have cleared the forests completely, have constructed roads and built electric fences to prevent the entry of wild elephants, and have established farmlands. Moreover, these businessmen, who have forcibly taken over the lands that used to be cultivated by the farmers for many years, have removed using bulldozers the cultivations such as groundnuts, green gram, cowpea, maize and lemon that had been grown in those lands acquired from the farmers and they have also destroyed the cultivation wells. The present owners of these lands have constructed permanent buildings on these lands, and have settled in them, too.