Vidataltivu reserve’s degazetting suspended by SC

The Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation’s gazette notice about the Wedithalathive Nature Reserve in Wilpattu has been suspended, by an interim order given by the Supreme Court today (27).

This ruling is in response to a Supreme Court a Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS).

As stated in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2383/05, dated May 6, 2024, the legal case challenges the Minister’s recent decision to modify the borders of the Wedithalathive Nature Reserve and set it aside for a prawn farm project.

The WNPS claims that this action was carried out without the required due process or transparency, that it is illegal, and that it jeopardizes conservation efforts. It emphasizes the area’s biological significance in their appeal, highlighting the seagrass and mangroves that are part of the reserve.

Following its consideration of the arguments presented by WNPS, the Supreme Court granted temporary orders that stayed and suspended the implementation of the Minister’s order in question.

It also mandated that the Minister and the other Respondents continue to maintain the status quo as at the date of the Petition.

Respondents include the Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, the Land Commissioner General, the Conservator General of Forests, and Minister of Wildlife & Forest Resources Conservation MP Pavithradevi Wanniarachchi, Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife & Forest Resources Conservation, Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, and National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka.

On behalf of WNPS, Mr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena, President’s Counsel, came before the Supreme Court with Dilumi de Alwis, Revan Weerasinghe, and Rukshan Senadheera, Attorneys-at-law, under the direction of S W Amila Kumara.