Mervyn’s land grab in Kelaniya

From Sunday Leader Apart from intimidating the media and making an ass of himself on public highways, in his latest foray Minister Mervyn Silva has started to instill fear among government officials, as he muscles through his cabinet colleagues to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a landed proprietor. In his latest act of intimidation, it has been revealed that Silva has started a project of acquiring land belonging to the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) in the Kelaniya area without approval from any authority and in some instances filling the land in contravention of the law. The SLLRDC owns 360 acres in Vedamulla, Mudun Ela, Manel Gama, Wanawasala and Dippitigoda divisions in Kelaniya. Most of the lands in the Kelaniya area are maintained by the SLLRDC as part of the Greater Colombo Flood Management Programme and are considered to be reserved state land. Workers attached to the SLLRDC allege that Silva with several of his supporters attached to the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha have forcibly acquired about 20 acres in Vedamulla in Kelaniya belonging to the Corporation to commence a "green revolution." Interestingly, a part of the land Silva and his goons have allegedly encroached on have been earmarked for a housing project by the Board of Investment (BoI). Land taken over A senior official attached to the SLLRDC, on the basis of anonymity, told The Sunday Leader that the said housing project would have helped the Corporation earn a sum of Rs. 300 million, but the land has now been taken over allegedly by Silva for " cultivation" leaving the SLLRDC high and dry. "The only assets belonging to the SLLRDC are the land owned by it and they are the main funding source for the Corporation. It is through leasing out these lands that we get funds for the Corporation as we do not get any Treasury funding. It is these earnings that help us maintain the 1,400 employees attached to the SLLRDC," the senior official said. The helpless officials of SLLRDC say that there was nothing they could do, as the authorities too were silent on the whole land grab issue. "What can we do? Even the political authorities have not taken any action and if we speak, we will be penalised," an official said, adding that even the subject minister who has been made aware of the issue has still not taken any action on it. The official also added that even the police were reluctant to take down the complaint which the SLLRDC employees tried to lodge against Silva. "The SLLRDC Chairman, the minister and the police have been informed of the alleged land grab by Silva, but no action has been taken yet. We would like to see an end to it," he said. Demarcated and separated When The Sunday Leader visited the SLLRDC land in the Vedamulla division, we witnessed the land being demarcated and separated into small plots and vegetable and fruit plants being cultivated in them. Another section of the land had a huge billboard erected with the pictures of Silva and President Mahinda Rajapakse and the so called expression of gratitude of the farming community to Silva for allocating the land for cultivation in line with a concept initiated by him. Residents in the area also confirmed to The Sunday Leader that it was indeed Silva and several of his supporters who had demarcated the land and started cultivating vegetables and fruits. According to the residents, who also wished to remain anonymous due to fear, Silva had allegedly handed over the land to some of his supporters in different parts of the Kelaniya area. "These people who are cultivating these lands are not from our village; they are from some other area in Kelaniya. In fact, this land does not belong to either Silva or the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha. It belongs to the SLLRDC," the residents said. Land allocated to employees The residents allege that the "green revolution" was just a farce and that the real motive behind the move was for Silva and his supporters in the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha to hand over the land to their henchmen in the Kelaniya area. However, during Silva’s acquisition of the SLLRDC land in Vedamulla, he had also allegedly encroached on land that had already been given to several employees of the SLLRDC by the Corporation in 2005. Former SLLRDC Chairman, Somaweera Chandrasiri in 2005, following a request made by the SLLRDC Workers’ Union to provide land to its employees who did not have either a permanent residence or a piece of land, had allocated land in the Vedamulla area to 21 employees of the Corporation. The SLLRDC Workers’ Union has in writing informed President Rajapakse that land given to several employees of the Corporation has been allegedly taken over by Silva and his supporters without the knowledge of the Corporation. SLLRDC Workers’ Union President, W.R.A. Priyankara in a letter dated July 30, 2008 to the President has said that blocks of 2.29 perch lands allocated to 21 employees of the Corporation who did not own houses have been allegedly taken over by Minister Mervyn Silva and his supporters. "The security personnel attached to the Corporation who visited the site to gather more information on the issue have been threatened and chased away," the letter stated. Promised housing loan According to Priyankara, the employees who were given the land have also been promised a housing loan of Rs. 75,000 by the Corporation. Priyankara told The Sunday Leader that they were yet to receive a response to their letter sent to the President. He said that although the employees have not been given a deed for the land, they have been issued with a letter conferring the rights to the respective land. An SLLRDC employee for the past 26 years, Nihal Jayatissa, who received one such piece of land in the Vedamulla area from the Corporation, is disappointed that neither the government nor the ministers have been able to secure the land that has been lawfully allocated to the employees of the SLLRDC. "I have worked in the Corporation for the past 26 years and received the land in 2005, but last month I got to know that Mervyn Silva has taken over the land and I was disappointed," he said. Jayatissa told The Sunday Leader that along with the 20 other employees he was currently considering taking legal action against those who have illegally taken possession of their land. Nothing has happened "We have already spoken to the trade unions in the Corporation and have also informed of the situation to the Chairman, and he has said he would look into the matter. But so far nothing has happened and the land is now being used for cultivation," Jayatissa said. Some of the SLLRDC land officers who spoke to The Sunday Leader on the basis of anonymity said that they were helpless and unable to take any action against the illegal land grab, which they claim is now being expanded. Apart from Vedamulla, Silva has also allegedly grabbed land belonging to the SLLRDC in Manel Gama as well as near the Mudun Ela Sand Centre. According to the SLLRDC, the land in Mudun Ela consists of 150 acres and was acquired by the government for a development project. However, SLLRDC employees told The Sunday Leader that Silva has allegedly encroached on the land and had started to fill the land to build a temple. "The SLLRDC has not been informed of the move and not a single authority has taken action against this illegal land filling," SLLRDC employees said. The workers also pointed out that last year, cabinet had approved a proposal to stop land filling in the Western Province in order to prevent flooding in Colombo and the greater Colombo area. To prevent flooding "The Mudun Ela area and most of the land belonging to the SLLRDC are reserved areas and are managed by the Corporation in a manner so as to prevent flooding in and around Colombo. But the land is now being filled by Silva to build a temple or so they claim," the employees said. Although there was no one engaged in filling the land at the time The Sunday Leader visited the area, a newly filled and levelled land in the Mudun Ela area was witnessed. Also, last week, sections of the SLLRDC land in the Manel Gama division had also been allegedly taken over by the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha under Silva’s ‘guidance.’ "Machinery belonging to the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha are used to first dump garbage on these lands and then fill them with earth. The machine bearing No. D 20 belonging to the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha and operated by one Wasantha and a private tipper bearing number LF 9844 are being used to fill the land," the SLLRDC employees alleged. First filled with garbage When The Sunday Leader visited the said area in the Manel Gama division, we witnessed the land being filled with garbage and then with earth as alleged by the SLLRDC employees. With Silva allegedly engaged in the illegal acquisition of lands belonging to the SLLRDC, the 1,400 employees of the Corporation are left to wonder the plight of their future. In addition to the takeover of lands allocated to the employees, the takeover of a land earmarked for a BoI project that would have earned the Corporation millions of rupees has been condemned by the SLLRDC employees. Silva’s desire to launch a cultivation programme in the Kelaniya area, and that too mainly bananas has caused millions of rupees in losses to the SLLRDC. The employees together with the trade unions in the SLLRDC have complained to the chairman and informed Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena of the illegal acquisition of land by Silva, but no action has been taken yet. In fact, the employees claim that they have raised the issue directly with Gunawardena when he addressed the SLLRDC employees on July 9, the day before the islandwide strike. "When we raised these issues with him at the time, the Minister said that he would take necessary action, but so far nothing has happened and the illegal land acquisition has increased," a disgruntled SLLRDC employee said. Whether the authorities will be able to put a stop to Silva’s alleged acts of intimidation only the gods will probably be able to tell. Land forcibly taken —SLLRDC Chairman Chairman, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), Karunasena Hettiarachchi said that although "some people" are forcibly making use of the land belonging to the Corporation, the land has not been officially given to them. Hettiarachchi also said that he had been informed that Minister Mervyn Silva and his supporters have acquired several lands belonging to the SLLRDC in the Kelaniya area. "We can give land to anyone only after the necessary approvals are received. So far, none of these people who have taken over the land have received such approval," he said. As for the action SLLRDC planned to take against the illegal land acquisition, Hettiarachchi said that the minister and the police have already been informed of the situation. Minister promises action Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said he would take ‘necessary action’ against the encroachers once the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) handed over a full report to him. He said that whatever land allocated to the employees of the SLLRDC would be honoured and given back to them, adding that he would take the necessary action once the issue is brought before him. "There is no doubt about the fact that the land allocated to the SLLRDC would be with them and no one can take it," he said. Upon being told that the SLLRDC has already informed him of the alleged land acquisition in the Kelaniya area by Minister Mervyn Silva, Gunawardena said that he was told of such an encroachment, but was unable to pin point any individual as the culprit. "The Corporation Chairman has told me, but I’m yet to receive a detailed report on the issue. There is a procedure that needs to be followed and there are issues that need to be investigated before levelling allegations," he said. Gunawardena also noted that there are land encroachers from all parties. "There are opposition and government members involved in it," he said. However, Gunawardena said that those currently using the land in Vedamulla in Kelaniya were doing so without SLLRDC approval. He also said that land filling allegedly being done by the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha too was improper as there are laws that have been passed with regard to land filling. Gunawardena said that he would not hesitate to take action once he receives a full report on the matter.