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Army hands over 28.8 acres of land it held since 1990
The confirmation letter being handed over to Jaffna District Secretary N. Vedanayagan by Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Major General Dharshana Hettiarachchi.
The army returned 28.8 acres of land to its owners in Valigamam North on Friday. The confirmation letter regarding the lands was officially handed over to Jaffna District Secretary N. Vedanayagan by newly appointed Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Major General Dharshana Hettiarachchi.
These lands, belonging to 400 families, were held by the security forces since 1990. After 27 years, the owners were allowed to enter their lands on Friday. However, some of the owners found only empty grounds: houses had been bulldozed and wells filled up. “Now we have a difficult task to identify which land belongs to which family,” Mr. Vedanayagan said.
The District Secretary said another 5250 acres of privately-owned lands were still occupied by the security forces. Out of the 5250 acres, 4500 acres of land are within the Valigamam North area. The area was previously classified as a High Security Zone.
The land returned to civilians