Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd takes immediate action against encroaching and deforesting of leased quarry land 

At a recent emergency meeting presided by the Minister of Forest Conservation C. B. Rathnayake, an urgent course of action was agreed upon by all stakeholders involved to immediately address an incident of illegal encroachment and forest clearing in a long-term leased land belonging to the Sri Lanka Cement Corporation in Puttalam.
The 4,450 acres of land in Aruwakkalu owned by Sri Lanka Cement Corporation is leased by Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd (SCCL), for the extraction of limestone raw materials necessary for cement production at its fully integrated cement plant. SCCL operates its Aruwakkalu quarry in accordance with the operational licenses issued by the Geological Survey & Mines Bureau (GSMB), Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and Provincial Environmental Act (PEA) of Sri Lanka. 
Having recognised the importance of biodiversity during the limestone mining extraction process carried out at the Aruwakkalu quarry, SCCL rehabilitates the quarry by refilling, landscaping and re-planting over 6,000 plants annually at the excavated mine pits, the company said in a media release. 
“Due to the lack of physical demarcations of the boundaries, the untouched and un-mined land area located approximately four kilometers away from the quarry operational area has been encroached by surrounding village communities over the last two decades. Although the matter was raised several times with relevant authorities, the encroachment of the land continued. The most recent land encroachment that occurred in early September this year resulted in the illegal clearing of approximately 29 acres of forest land in an isolated area located to the South Eastern boundary of the land. Subsequent to careful investigation and formulation of proper mining plans, this area was identified by the company as a non-mining area with the forest conserved over the years. A formal complaint was filed by SCCL at the Wanathawilluwa Police on September 7 requesting for an investigation of the illegal forest clearing by the perpetrators,” the release said. 
At a meeting held on September 14, at the Wanathavilluwa Police Station presided by Minister C.B. Rathnayake accompanied by the Secretary to the Minister of Forest Conservation and Wildlife, the Divisional Secretary, Director General Forest Conservation, Director General Wildlife, Director General Central Environmental Authority, Deputy Inspector General of Police Puttalam, Senior Superintendent of Police, Puttalam, the Officer in Charge, Wanathawilluwa, Chairman Pradeshiya Sabha, Chairman, Cement Corporation and the Chairman of SCCL, the officials agreed upon an urgent course of action to address the incident of illegal encroachment and forest clearing in Aruwakkalu. 
Following the meeting, SCCL, under the guidance of the minister, agreed to take immediate action to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents in the future and to rehabilitate the affected area. SCCL has since commenced such rehabilitation of the deforested land and plans to plant 19,000 plants in the affected area with regular transparent reporting to all stakeholders on the progress of all activities.