The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan
Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan supported the Adjournment Motion on releasing Sri Lanka Ports Authority lands in Trincomalee, describing the proposed return as a correction of past land dispossession in Town and Gravets areas such as Linganagar, Palaiyootru, Poombuhar, Kappalthurai, Munthunagar and China Kuda. He said lands originally occupied by about 800 families were taken around 1979, and urged the Government to release the maximum possible extent, noting that 4,672 families are now affected and only 790 hectares are proposed for return while 1,219 hectares remain with the SLPA. He also called for urgent attention to alleged land seizures and associated religious-site developments in Kuchchaveli, Thiriyaai and other Tamil areas, while pledging cooperation for the initiative.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, we welcome this Adjournment Motion on releasing SLPA lands in Trincomalee. I listened to Deputy Minister Hon. Arun Hemachandra and others.
¶ 02 In Town and Gravets—Linganagar, Palaiyootru, Poombuhar, Kappalthurai, Munthunagar, China Kuda, and others—about 800 families lived there decades ago. Around 1979, ahead of the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act following the Indo–Lanka Accord, Lalith Athulathmudali, then holding Defence, Trade and Shipping portfolios, overnight removed people’s land rights in these areas. This was one of his worst acts.
¶ 03 We welcome that you now propose to return lands. Originally, 2,555 hectares (6,379 acres) were lived on; of this, 1,219 hectares (3,048 acres) are now retained for SLPA, while only 790 hectares (1,975 acres) are to be returned—please release the maximum possible to the people. When the lands were taken, there were 800 families; today, 4,672 families live there—please consider the increase.
¶ 04 Beyond these 11 GN divisions, further lands have been seized in Kuchchaveli and other Tamil areas, with forced establishment of Buddhist viharas and surrounding land takeovers—for example in Thiriyaai. Please attend urgently to Kuchchaveli, Thiriyaai, and Town and Gravets. We support this initiative as a correction of past wrongs and will cooperate for its success.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 8 October 2025 ·No. 22594 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 October 2025. No. 22594. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/18896