News

News

CEA stops rape of Attidiya
Central environmental Chairman Tilak Ranavirajah has acted immediately on complaints by residents to control a developer who allegedly ran amok, cutting down more than 30 trees along a lake front property in Attidiya.
In a letter the Chairman has directed that work on The Attidiya Wet Park Project be stopped till the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment is done.

“We are impressed by the speed and decisiveness with which the CEA Chairman acted. He seemed appalled by the wanton destruction of trees and acted immediately. We hope this gives the officers lower down the ranks some encouragement to act because sometimes they are too indecisive and then it’s too late. These trees have taken more than 14 years to grow and any development these days works round saving trees which are the lungs of the nation. We were appalled that they were tearing down the trees to build a jogging track and pleaded with the developer Mr. Koswatte to reconsider but he would not listen to our appeals. Even the officials of the SLLRDC and UDA were shocked as they had not approved this and we hope they will seriously review this project and also the lease agreement signed by the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation”, a resident said.

The Attidiya Lake was dredged by the SLLRDC as a flood retention area, at a cost of 5,500 million rupees of public funds. The area was being developed for public use and was very popular with the locals who used it for recreation, relaxation and angling. The Developer was trying to annex this area as a tourist project for the use of a few tourists.

The Attidiya Wet Park Development is a contentious project with the residents alleging they are being dispossessed of their rights as citizens of this country and that this was the first time that a lake had been leased, depriving the residents and the public from enjoying the lake which had been dredged using their tax money. SLLRDC argued that since this was a man made lake normal environmental rules did not apply.

However all lakes in Sri Lanka are man made, and all are subject to environmental controls and are open for enjoyment by the public.
The residents have obtained an Interim Injunction in the District Court of Mount Lavinia against the Attidiya Wet Park Project and the SLLRDC, restraining them from taking any steps that would cause any obstruction to the residents viewing and enjoying the scenic beauty of Attidiya Lake and the island and to restrain them from erecting any posts or digging holes or obstructing the free use of the roadway. The directors of Attidiya Wet Park are Mr. Anil Koswatte and Mr. Cubby Wijetunge.

Top

Back to News