The Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayahan, has urged the Minister of Environment to take swift action to release the habitats and livelihood lands of the affected communities that have been acquired by the Department of Forestry and the Department of Wildlife.
An information and consultation session on the proposed amendments to the National Environment Bill was held this morning – on Sunday 01 March 2026, at the Jaffna District Secretariat, in the presence of the Minister of Environment, Hon. Dr. Dhammika Pathabhendhi. While participating in the event and addressing the gathering, the Governor made the following remarks.
Addressing the gathering after the welcome speech delivered by District Secretary M. Piiratheepan, the Governor stated that since the government led by His Excellency the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake assumed office, a significant number of investors have shown interest in the Northern Province.
However, he noted that they continue to face numerous bureaucratic challenges in securing investment permits. He cautioned that if the approval process is not expedited, investors may become discouraged and withdraw their interest. Therefore, he emphasized that the delays and procedural obstacles caused by institutions operating under the Ministry of Environment in issuing these permits must be addressed and removed without delay.
The Hon. Governor further stated that the Department of Forestry and the Department of Wildlife, operating under the Ministry of Environment, have caused significant disruption to the normal lives of the people in the Northern Province. He pointed out that during the period when communities were displaced due to the war, their lands were acquired by these departments through gazette notifications, without conducting proper field surveys or holding consultations with the affected residents prior to their return.
As a result, he noted, the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces continue to face serious hardships. While acknowledging that the present government has initiated constructive measures to address these issues, he urged that the process be accelerated and that the people’s habitats and livelihood lands be released without further delay.
“We are deeply concerned about the protection of the environment in our province. At the same time, we need development. We are not calling for development at the expense of environmental safeguards. Many volunteers and private organizations have successfully carried out tree-planting initiatives here.
However, solid waste management has now emerged as a major challenge in the Jaffna District of the Northern Province. The institutions functioning under the Ministry of Environment must extend their fullest cooperation to the efforts being undertaken to identify and implement a permanent solution to this issue,” the Governor stated.
Following this, the Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Hon. R. Chandrasekar, stated that in view of the present circumstances and the significance of the province, it is essential for all stakeholders to put forward their constructive views and suggestions regarding the proposed draft amendment.
Furthermore, Hon. Minister R. Chandrasekar stated that there is considerable dissatisfaction among the people of the province regarding the activities of the Department of Forests, the Department of Wildlife, and the Department of Coastal Conservation under the Ministry of Environment, noting that adequate cooperation has not been received from the officials of these departments. He emphasized, as the Hon. Governor had pointed out, that the slow pace of action by these officials should not become a reason for investors to withdraw. He added that an investor known to him has been seeking approval for the past six months, while a major investment worth 100 million rupees that was expected to come to the province has been delayed for more than a year due to the non-availability of environmental clearance, and stressed that such situations must be brought to an immediate end.
Following this, Dr. Ravindra Kariyawasam, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, provided a detailed explanation to the gathering on the National Environment Amendment Act. Thereafter, the Minister of Environment, Hon. Dr. Dhammika Pathabhendhi, shared his views and proposed solutions.
He stated that the government is fully aware that the issue concerning lands under the control of the Department of Forests and the Department of Wildlife in the Northern Province has become a major concern in the region. He noted that after the war, the two departments did not carry out direct field surveys of the lands allocated to them but instead demarcated the areas using GPS technology, which has led to numerous errors in the marking of boundaries.
He assured that “a special Cabinet subcommittee was appointed last August to find a permanent solution to the water scarcity issues in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The subcommittee is currently collecting data on a district-wise basis and is expected to submit its final report within the next six months. Following that, we will be able to implement an effective and sustainable solution to this problem.”
He further stated, “Delays in issuing permits to investors have occurred due to staff vacancies in the institutions under our ministry. We have now obtained approval to recruit 1,685 new officers to fill these vacancies, and I urge people from this region to apply in large numbers for these positions. I am confident that this will completely resolve permit-related delays in the future. We have also identified that, in the past, officers in our institutions were not adequately guided, and urgent measures have now been taken to rectify this situation,”
The discussion was attended by Hon. Member of Parliament S. Sribavanantharaja, Jaffna District Secretariat officials, Divisional Secretaries, and district and provincial level officials of departments under the Ministry of Environment participated in this discussion.
