Army releases 700 acres more in Jaffna

About 700 acres of private lands more, held by the Sri Lanka Army in the Jaffna district, have been released. The civilian administration in two divisions – Tellippalai and Kopay – has taken over the lands from the Army for passing them on eventually to original owners.

As per an official estimate, in Jaffna, there are 12,000 families, still living either in welfare centres or with friends and relatives, as their lands have not been released for resettlement. The largest area of lands occupied by the security forces is in the two divisions.

The release of lands follows President Maithripala Sirisena’s direction to the Army. In the early December, D.M.Swaminathan, Minister in charge of Rehabilitation and Resettlement, sought the Cabinet’s approval for the release of further lands.

With this, the total extent of lands released by the security forces is around 3,200 acres. This includes 1,000 acres in Jaffna, released in the initial round; 818 acres in Sampoor, near Trincomalee, of the Eastern Province and 613 acres in Killinochchi of the Northern Province.

An official release stated that the government had drawn up plans for constructing 65,000 houses in the war-hit areas.(The Hindu)