The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Defence, I reply as follows:

¶ 02 (a) (i) Lands belonging to the people of Mullikulam have not been taken for use by the Sri Lanka Army. Further, the Ministry has no information that displaced people since 2007 have been unable to return to their villages.

¶ 03 However, within the Musali Divisional Secretariat, Mannar District, in the Marichchikaddi GN Division, 245.9 hectares of State land belonging to the Department of Forest Conservation have been used by the Navy for a naval base since 2009. On several occasions, portions of land were released by the Navy; most recently, around 77 acres were released for civilian use in 2017. For 27 civilian houses located within the area used by the Navy, 27 replacement houses were constructed and handed over to civilians in the Manalkaadu village in 2012. A name list of those 27 householder families is annexed.

¶ 04 (ii) The said 27 replacement houses in Manalkaadu were built by the Navy in 2012 and are currently occupied by the civilians concerned.

¶ 05 (iii) Information regarding resettlement of displaced civilians is not with the Ministry of Defence; relevant details lie with other Ministries. We will refer and submit details.

¶ 06 (iv) As per (ii), 27 houses within the Navy-used area were utilized for official purposes by the Navy, and 27 alternative houses were provided at Manalkaadu. Within the naval base area there is a Roman Catholic church and a Roman Catholic Tamil mixed school. About 77 acres were released to provide access, and the Navy has provided free transport facilities for devotees and schoolchildren, and runs a preschool for Sinhala and Tamil children via the Navy Seva Vanitha Unit employing two teachers paid by the Navy.

¶ 07 No civilians have been harassed or displaced by the Navy.

¶ 08 From 2012 to 2015, approximately 752 acres, and in 2017 a further 77 acres, totaling about 829 acres, have been released to civilians. The currently used 245.9 hectares will, after proper assessment, be rationalized to retain only land strategically essential for national security and for maintaining the naval base, while the balance—which are Forest Department lands—will be considered for release in due course.

¶ 09 (vi) The 27 occupied houses were replaced as per (ii).

¶ 10 (vii) Does not arise.

¶ 11 (b) Does not arise.