Around 110 acres of land occupied by the Sri Lanka Army in the Keppapilavu area off Mullaitivu will be released to its original owners shortly under the third phase of land release programme.
Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M Swaminathan said a Cabinet Paper to allocate
Rs.148 million for Sri Lanka Army to relocate to a public land in the area after they vacate from the Keppapilavu lands will be submitted next week.
This decision was taken during the special discussions held at the Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Ministry premises with the participation of Minister D.M.Swaminathan, Opposition Leader R.Sampanthan, MP Douglas Devananda,representatives from the Keppapilavu area and Defence Ministry representatives, Northern Province Chief Minister, the Treasury Secretary,Army Commander and the Mullaitivu GA.
The Minister said that 250 acres of land had been already released by the Security Forces to the civilians under the first and second phases of the Keppapilavu land release programme.
“I must thank the Sri Lanka Army which extended its fullest cooperation to make this endeavor a success, Minister Swaminathan said. Another 70 acres of land will be released by the Army to its original owners under the fourth stage of Keppapilavu land release project,” the Minister said.
Commenting on the recent attack on Jaffna High Court Judge M. Illanchelian, Minister Swaminathan said the investigation revealed
that one person out of the group of prople who believed to have been drunk is reported to have snatched the pistol of Police Sergeant and shot at him. But, we still don’t know what exactly happened until the investigation was over,” he said.
The Minister further said that drug use and liquor consumption among Northen youth has seen an increase in the aftermath of the war. “This is due to the high youth unemployment prevailing in the North,” the Minister said. We have planned to set up a special economic zone to overcome the unemployment problem and uplift the livelihoods of Northerners,” Minister Swaminathan added.