The Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of this august House issues faced by farmers in the Trincomalee District.

¶ 02 While we are discussing the economy, the Forest Department has demarcated and seized farmlands and is preventing cultivation: in Sampur GN Division (Muttur DS) 250 acres owned by 40 farmers; in Kilivetti GN 85 acres of 37 farmers; in Bharathipuram GN 117 acres of 45 farmers; in Aasath Nagar GN 148 acres of 70 farmers; and in Thoppur GN 93 acres of 60 farmers—altogether 693 acres belonging to 252 farmers. Similarly, in Thangai Nagar GN (Seruwila DS), 145 acres belonging to 85 farmers have been staked with boundary stones. I urge the line Ministry to halt this immediately.

¶ 03 On land in Trincomalee, governments change but the situation does not. From 1983 to 2009, during the war, people were displaced. During that period, farmlands cultivated for generations were encroached: the Forest Department and the Department of Wildlife placed boundary stones and seized lands. For example, 205 minor tanks and 25 bunds—about 12,000 acres—were seized by the Forest Department, depriving about 24,000 metric tons of paddy per season.

¶ 04 In Verugal DS Division, the total area is 32,042 acres. Yet the Wildlife Department claims 25,242 acres and the Forest Department 11,906 acres—totaling 37,148 acres out of 32,042. People ask, how can they seize more than the total area? They sarcastically say only the Forest and Wildlife Departments can perform such magic.

¶ 05 In Kuchchaveli DS Division, the Forest Department has taken 29,430 acres and is attempting to take another 28,372 acres; the Wildlife Department holds 7,330 acres; the Department of Archaeology 1,087 acres; and Buddhist monks, as “Pooja Bhoomi,” have taken 3,820 acres. Consequently, on lands cultivated before 1985—70,039 acres—paddy production is blocked, reducing output by about 140,000 metric tons per season there alone.

¶ 06 Likewise, the Department of Archaeology has staked lands long cultivated and prevented farming while failing for years to find any artefacts—for example, around 1,000 acres in Thiriyaai. Farmers are not being allowed back, gravely harming paddy production.

¶ 07 In total, in Trincomalee, of lands cultivated before 1985: 118,710 acres are claimed by the Forest Department, 111,619 by Wildlife, 2,599 by Archaeology, and around 3,820 acres as “Pooja Bhoomi” by monks—236,748 acres in all kept from cultivation. This denies about 500,000 metric tons of paddy per season. The Government must take note, release these lands to increase production, and let farmers live with dignity, without needing to import rice. Thank you.