A holiday bungalow built by the Chief of Defence Staff Roshan Gunathilaka when he was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force in the Knuckles Forest Range will be taken over by the government, Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.
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| The house in question in the picturesque setting of Knuckles |
In response to a question raised by a journalist on Air Vice Marshal Gunathilaka’s property, Minister Yapa told a news conference on Wednesday that a decision had been taken to dismantle this bungalow and several other buildings from the environmentally sensitive Knuckles Range foothills, which come under the UNESCO world heritage site.
He said the Secretary to the Ministry of Lands had instructed the Divisional Secretary of Laggala to take legal action to take over the former Air Force Commander’s property and other buildings.
The Minister said the sale of the property by the previous owner to Air Vice Marshal Gunathilaka had taken place in violation of environmental regulations and therefore illegal.
The minister said compensation would be paid to the owners. “They are all private properties. There is a process to be followed when acquiring private property,” he said.
Mr. Yapa revealed that the decision to take over private land on the Knuckles range area was taken way back in 1980. “We have acquired many blocks of land and are in the process acquiring the rest,’ he said adding that 43 people had filed cases against the acquisition. |
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