News
Army finalising early release of lands to the public, says Army Chief in Jaffna
View(s):
A section of the crowd present at the event in Thellipalai
The Army is in the process of finalising the early release of lands to the public, after a careful study of national security concerns has been made, said Army Chief Lt.Gen. Mahesh Senanayake in Jaffna this week.
Addressing a ceremony held in Thellipalai to hand over 25 houses built for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), Lt.Gen. Senanayake noted that the Jaffna District Secretary requested the military to consider releasing another 500 acres of civilian lands in the region, ahead of the Sinhala-Tamil New Year. “The military doesn’t want to keep all these civilian lands but, I have to make the decision based on priority to national security concerns.”
In the second phase of the ‘Nallinakkapuram’ Housing Scheme, 25 beneficiaries from war affected families were given keys to the new houses built by the Army. Each house is built on a 20-perch plot of land, at a cost of Rs 1 million.
While emphasising the need for reconciliation among communities, to pre-empt another armed conflict in the future, the Army Chief pointed out that, even though the soldiers built those houses using their resources, most of them don’t own a house in the South. “Because they want to see their Tamil brothers and sisters live in peace and prosper.”
According to the military, this is the second housing project initiated after the Keerimalai housing project for 100 IDP families in 2016. The families who lived in camps and rented houses, are able to live in their own homes built by the forces.