by Association Bharathi CCFT – Centre Culturel Franco Tamoul, Maurepas, France, in partnership with Tamils’ Heritage Forum Sri Lanka, date not given
Content
1. Background
2. State aided colonization in East
3. Targeting the North
4. Mahaweli Project
4.1Mahaweli Authority
4.2 Mahaweli Authority Act No. 23 of 1979- provisions relating to land
4.3 Mahaweli ‘L’ System and Sinhala Colonization
4.4 Mahaweli Authority supports Sinhala encroachers in Mullaitivu
4.5 Proposed ‘J’ and ‘K’ Mahaweli zones in the Northern Sri Lanka
5. Department of Archaeology supports Buddhist colonization in
North and East
5.1 Antiquities Act No. 24 of 1998
5.2 Archaeological Sites of National Importance Act No. 16 of 1900
5.3 Kurunthoor-malai Saiva temple in Mullaitivu
5.4 Vedukku-naari hill-top Saiva temple in Vavuniya Nort
5.5 Neeraaviyadi Pillayar Temple in Chemmalai East Mullaitivu
6. Department of Forest and Department of Wild-Life
6.1 Nanthikkadal and Nayaru nature reserves by the department of
Wild-Life
7. Structural Genocide Continues
8. People mobilizes against structural genocide.
https://slenvironmentcliment.blogspot.com/2010/11/beautiful-sri-lanka.html
4. Mahaweli Project
Thousands of Sinhalese families had been settled in the Trinco, Batticaloa and Amparai District
of the Eastern Province through Mahaweli authority. Almost all provisions of the 13th
amendment with respect to land have been disregarded. Through the Mahaweli ‘L’ System,
government is in the process of doing and planning a massive Sinhala colonization in the north
to alter the demographic composition of the Northern Province.
4.1 Mahaweli Authority
The Mahaweli Master Plan in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka has earmarked 365,000 ha of land for
development of Agriculture in 13 Systems identified under the by the Mahaweli Development
Programme. It was intended to construct a series of reservoirs and hydroelectricity plants and
develop a large area of land with irrigation in order to facilitate the establishment of new
settlements and development of agriculture. The implementation of the Mahaweli Development
Programme is a mandate of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka established in 1979 by an Act
of Parliament.
The Mahaweli Development Authority’s current task is to implement the envisaged project plan
in the balance areas proposed by the Master plan and also Gazetted areas. This includes
rehabilitating and maintenance of the irrigation network, administration of the land, enhancing
the production of agriculture and the post settlement process. Further, MASL is responsible for
managing irrigation water for 101,526 ha of Irrigable land in the dry zone.
4.2 Mahaweli Authority Act No. 23 of 1979- provisions relating to land
“The Minister may, with the approval of the President from time to time, by Order published in
the Gazette declare any area which in the opinion of the Minister can be developed with the
water resources of the Mahaweli Ganga or of any major river to be a special area (herein after
referred to as ” Special Area “) in or in relation to which the Authority may, subject to the other
provisions of this Act, exercise, perform and discharge all or any of its powers, duties and
functions.” It shall be lawful for the Minister to whom the administration of this Act is assigned to
exercise in, or with respect to, any special area:
(a)The powers conferred on a Minister by paragraph (b) of the proviso to section 20 of the
Land Development Ordinance;
(b)The powers conferred on a Minister by sections 49, 51, 79 and 80 of the Crown Lands
Ordinance.; and
(c)The powers relating to special grants and leases of State land conferred on a Minister
by any provision of the Crown Lands Ordinance or by any Order or regulation made
thereunder.”
Mahaweli Act provisions are very clear it gives a license to the Minister in charge of the
Mahaweli Authority to do whatever he likes with respect to land, disregarding the provisions of
the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
4.3 Mahaweli ‘L’ System and Sinhala Colonization
In the original Mahaweli master plan developed by the foreign experts, the project was not
targeted the Northern Province. In 1988 through a special Gazette notification Mahaweli ‘L’
system was created and expanded through another special Gazette notification in 2007 for the
exclusive purpose of Sinhala colonization of a strategic piece of merging Land of North and East
Provinces, in order to wedge the North from the East to seek to permanently wedge the
demographic contiguity of the northern and eastern provinces.
Boundaries of Mahaweli L Zone
The Manalaru (Manalaru (Welioya) centred Mahaweli L Zone is under a massive infra structural
development at present. It is learnt that after the ending of the war in 2009, through expansion
of Mahaweli project in L Zone, 6000 Sinhala families have been colonized in the Manalaru
(Welioya), Vavuniya North divisions. Over 2000 acres of livelihood lands belongs to the Tamil
community, displaced in 1984 also redistributed to the colonized Sinhala families. The Mahaweli
Development Authority has spent over Rs.3000 million for providing development assistance in
the Manalaru (Welioya) area, after the war. There is no single Tamil family benefited through the
Mahaweli programme in the region. The following is the details of paddy lands redistributed to
the colonized Sinhala families which belongs to the Tamil community who displaced in 1984
from the bordering villages of Mullaitivu District