21 December 2022 12:01 am Views - 2707
Employees of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau have urged the Ministry of Environment to hold an impartial inquiry to probe the frauds committed by its former acting Director
Former acting Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) D. Sajjana de Silva was sent on compulsory leave last week for his alleged involvement in mining licence scandals.
Despite continuous requests made- since 2020- by former Chairmen of Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) Dr. O.K. Dissanayake and AnuraWalpola from the respective subject ministers to take action against Sajjana de Silva, Ministers S.M.Chandrasena, Mahinda Amaraweera and NazeerAhamed took no action to remove him from his post. This irked the longstanding GSMB employees who were up in arms against the Ministers.
“We have proved what a corrupted officer De Silva is. Not only has he made GSMB incur losses, but also defrauded the government to obtain a duty-free vehicle permit. If De Silva wasn’t exposed in parliament over the past few weeks, neither the government nor the minister would have sent him on compulsory leave,” a senior GSMB official said.
A few days before De Silva was removed, the Daily Mirror contacted Minister of Environment NazeerAhamed to find out why action hasn’t been taken against De Silva although it has been proved how he was involved in mining licence frauds, the Minister said that it is not fair by the accused if his removal takes place before being proven guilty through an inquiry.
“We have issued him a charge sheet and await his response. We have also appointed a committee to provide us with recommendations on what action we should take. Till then I don’t want to take any action against the acting DG,” Ahamed said.
When asked why he cannot send De Silva on compulsory leave and the authorities conduct an inquiry keeping with the system adopted by other institutions and aimed at preventing accused parties from interfering with the inquiries, Ahamed discontinued the conversation claiming he was late and had to attend Parliament.
The GSMB employees say that they have now identified who aided and abetted De Silva in his mining licence scams. Amongst them are Acting Director Legal Kanchana Fernando and a few others attached to the head office and the regional office at Trincomalee. They are to make a request to Secretary Ministry of Environment Dr. Anil Jasinghe to send Kanchana Fernando and the rest too on compulsory leave and to conduct inquiries against them.
“We have documents to prove their involvement in these frauds. The time has come to clean this institution and get rid of all corrupt officers. This has become a den of corruption over the years,” GSMB sources added.
It is alleged that De Silva has not made requests to obtain the necessary environmental clearances when issuing these mining licences. All these violations have been done to please supporters of a powerful political family from down south. It is said that these politicians had instructed the respective Environment Ministers not to remove De Silva and instead make him permanent in the post.
“Most of the sand mining license holders for the Eastern Province and other provinces are either from Hambantota or Kurunegala districts. If a person with no political affiliation applied for a licence after De Silva became the acting DG, it became difficult to obtain the licence. Because of De Silva’s affiliation with this family, respective Ministry Secretaries – SarathWijesinghe and Dr. Anil Jasinghe, though wanted, couldn’t take action against him. But however, our struggle brought us vistory in the end. We are thankful to Dr. Jasinghe for the action he has now taken even at this stage,” the employees said.
This newspaper is in possession of copies of all official documents that reveal how De Silva has failed to follow Mines and Miner Act No 33 of 1992 amended and bypassed all environmental laws to issue a sand mining licence on November 9, 2021, to a company, whose owner Senarath Hewage Prasad Manjula, later became the Chairman GSMB.
Meanwhile, former Director Mineral Titling, Hema Liyanarachchi describing her specific duties said that when licences are granted, she had to check whether the proper procedure was followed and whether the necessary approvals from the respective government institutions had been obtained.
“I was Director Mineral Titling and accepting applications came under my purview. I took the decision regarding what procedure each applicant had to follow. I had to look into how licences are issued and whether they have followed the proper procedure. According to Mining Licensing Regulations under Mines and Mineral Act, we cannot accept more than one application for a single site. On many occasions I confronted De Silva for granting licences to those who have a political affiliation,” Liyanarachchi said.
Laws bypassed
According to Liyanarachchi Uptown Ventures was issued with a licence bypassing all laws, when she was overseas.
“By the time this licence was issued on November 9, 2021, I was oversea on a private visit. Upon my return, when I was informed, I immediately contacted Director Regions and EIA, Asela Fernando and Director Mine Safety K.V. Jagath. They too were unaware of this. In June, the Registrar of the Trincomalee Regional Office Anoma Wijeratne called me and said that there is an application to the said land and asked whether to accept it. I asked her not to as the Head Office had already accepted an application regarding the same land and the applicant is in the process of obtaining the required approvals from the Central Environmental Authority (CAE). According to the GSMB Act, we cannot accept two applications for one land. A few days after this incident, I called Anoma once again to find out whether she had followed my instructions. I was shocked to hear that this application had been accepted, on the same day I instructed her not to,” Liyanarachchi said.
Following this, Liyanarachchi by letter dated July 8, 2021 and send to Anoma Wijeratne warned her, claiming that she had violated the Mines and Miner Act. She had added that in the event any legal action is taken, Anoma would have to face the consequences for accepting the second application (Ref: TM/ IML/ A/ EP/ Sand/ N/ 2021/ 0240) on June 2, 2021.
The letter further states, ‘Although I informed you that the GSMB Head Office has accepted an application (Ref: IML/ A/N/EP/Clay Sand/ 2020/3188) to remove the sand at Vellanaval land by the Mahaweli River and Raalkuli Ela at Safi Nagar in Muttur, Trincomalee, you have still gone ahead and accepted the second application on June 2, 2021. You have accepted this application to a project the GSMB on April 9, 2021, has requested the CEA, to facilitate the applicant to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In the event, any legal action is taken you will have to take the sole responsibility’.
When contacted Regional Registrar Trincomalee Anoma Wijeratne to ask why she had accepted the application in question, ignoring Director Mineral Titling’s instructions, Wijeratne refused to comment, but said that she had discharged her duties as per the GSMB rules and regulations.
The mining licence fraud that led the Ministry of Environment to send De Silva on compulsory leave came to light after the latter rejected an application submitted by Ananda Kasturiarachchi of Visalma Constructions for a mining licence to a state land in Muttur in the Trincomalee district.
Former Chairman Dr. Anura Walpola told this newspaper how all his attempts to remove De Silva and bring in a new DG had failed due to political pressure.
Complaints poured in
“When the post of Director General became vacant, after the then DG, Dr. Siriwardena went on retirement, the next in line was Udaya Silva. The Legal Officer informed me that there are allegations against Silva and there is a pending inquiry. Hence the Board took a decision to appoint the next senior officer Sajjana de Silva as the acting DG for a period of three months. After this appointment was made, I came to know that his personal file had been taken by the Financial Crime Investigation Division (FCID) for defrauding documents to obtain a duty-free vehicle permit. After three months, De Silva said he had obtained approval from Minister S.M. Chandrasena to ensure he was confirmed in his post. A minister cannot take such a decision without the board’s approval. The Board did not make him permanent in his post and instead allowed him to serve as acting DG. As complaints started pouring in against De Silva, I once tried to serve him a charge sheet but he did not accept it,” Dr. Walpola added.
Dr. Walpola further revealed how Board Secretary Kanchana Fernando, who was also the then Legal Officer, worked hand in glove with De Silva. It is alleged that petitions were filed against the most senior officer Udaya Silva to stop him from becoming the DG.
“The Board decided to recruit a Legal Director and interviews were conducted and a candidate was selected. But we could not proceed further as instructions came from the Presidential Secretariat to promote Fernando as the Legal Director. Until I left GSMB, I did not make her permanent in that post, but she was working as the acting Legal Director,” Dr. Walpola added.
Fraudulent act
Speaking to the Daily Mirror Ananda Kasturiarachchi of Visalma Constructions revealed how the project report he submitted to De Silva at the review meeting held at the Ministry in April 2021, was fraudulently given to the second applicant -Uptown Ventures, to be used as their project report.
“It is alleged that De Silva has given my report to Uptown Ventures. They had changed the first and last pages of my report to suit their requirements and presented the same contents to obtain the mining licence. It is the GSMB officers who have seen both mine and Uptown Venture’s reports, who informed me of this fraud. In 2020, Divisional Secretary (DS) Muttur M. Mubarak approved my project and consent letters were given after opening a file regarding this project. Following this, I deposited money on December 30, 2020, at the GSMB Head Office to commence inspection work. I was asked to get the consent from Department of Archeology, Forest Conservation, Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and from a few other government departments,” Kasturiarachchi said.
Later, Kasturiarachchi sent his representative for a review meeting held on April 9, 2021, at the Environment Ministry where Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe, GSMB Chairman, acting DG and several other higher officials were present.
“I was asked to do a presentation at this meeting. As I suffered a heart attack a few days before and had to be hospitalised, I sent my representatives for the presentation. The project reports I have made were handed over to the acting DG at this meeting. As the area in which I requested to mine sand was more than 10 hectares, the Ministry officials requested us to do an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and produce the report to show that the project would not impact the environment. The Minister wanted the acting DG to request the CEA to facilitate us to carry out the said EIA. At this review meeting, my project report was handed over to De Silva for their perusal. It is this report that he has allegedly given to Uptown Ventures to use as their report; changing the cover and back pages,” Kasturiarachchi alleged.
Subsequent to this meeting, neither the GSMB nor the CEA made any attempt to go ahead with the Muttur project. Meanwhile, it is learnt how the DS Muttur -who opened a file and gave his consent for Kasturiarachchi’s project- has been transferred out of the district and instead two officials from the DS Muttur and District Secretary Trincomalee were brought in.
In an unorthodox manner, after getting the former DS Muttur transferred, De Silva has written to the District Secretary Trincomalee to find out whether a file has been opened under Kasturiarachchi’s name at the Divisional Secretariat.
Dr Jasinghe too raised concerns
“This was the first time GSMB has checked for a file from any District or Divisional Secretariat. It is now revealed why the former DS Muttur was sent on a transfer. They have removed applicant Kasturiarachchi’s file and made it unavailable with the help of the Muttur Divisional Secretariat officials. Even Secretary, Environment Ministry, Dr. Anil Jasinghe too has raised concern regarding this in his October 2022, appeal review report,” a Senior GSMB official said.
Later, De Silva informed Kasturiarachchi that his application has been rejected because Muttur Divisional Secretariat had informed him that they had not opened a file for him.
“When I was told that there wasn’t a project file at the Divisional Secretariat Muttur, I got the former Divisional Secretary M. Mubarak to certify the copies which were in my file as true copies and handed over them to the acting DG, the District and Divisional Secretaries in Trincomalee and Muttur respectively. I was then requested to make an appeal to the Ministry Secretary within 14 days. I made an appeal to the Ministry and whilst expecting Environment Ministry Secretary’s response to the appeal, De Silva has issued the mining licence to the second applicant who has not even carried out an EIA which is mandatory for any project over 10 hectares of land,” Kasturiarachchi said.
This newspaper is in possession of Dr. Jasinghe’s appeal review report dated October 11, 2022, where he has raised concerns about why GSMB has sent a written request to the District Secretary Trincomalee on June 14, 2021, seeking whether a project file has been opened under Visalma Constructions by the Divisional Secretariat Muttur in 2020.
Dr. Jasinghe’s appeal review report further states, ‘At a time when the GSMB has accepted the documents submitted by Visalma Constructions for a mining licence and the GSMB has made a request to the CEA to facilitate the applicant to carry out an EIA, the GSMB has also made a request to the District Secretary Trincomalee, to check whether there is such a file. This request has been made six months after accepting the application. It is questionable whether the GSMB carries out such surveys on each and every application they receive or whether this was carried out, especially using the documents submitted by Visalma Constructions’.
Dr. Jasinghe in his report states how the GSMB has issued the licence on November 9, 2021, to Uptown Ventures; just 36 days after rejecting Visalma’s application on October 4, 2021. He has further stated that the procedure the GSMB followed to issue the licence to Uptown Ventures without obtaining an EIA cannot be accepted. Further, in the report, it is stated that the decision taken by the Regional Office Trincomalee too cannot be accepted. The report also suggests granting Visalma Construction, if possible, the sand mining licence.
Charge sheet
Following the findings of how the acting DG, Sajjana de Silva has offered this mining licence to Uptown Ventures, Secretary Environment Ministry, Dr. Anil Jasinghe issued a charge sheet on November 29, 2022, requesting him why the Ministry should not take action against him for issuing a licence to the second applicant when the Environment Ministry was in the process of making the appeal review report.
“Until De Silva was sent on compulsory leave on December 9, he did not respond to the charge sheet. During Dr. Walpola’s time, he issued a charge sheet to him and the acting Legal Director for their involvement in frauds, De Silva did not accept his charge sheet, but although Fernando accepted, on the direction of De Silva, Kanchana Fernando too did not respond to the charge sheet,” Liyanarachchi said.
When Kanchana Fernando was contacted and asked to give her side of the story to the allegations levelled, she refused to comment and instead wanted us to obtain a comment from the newly appointed Chairman or the Director General.
“As per the establishment code, I cannot make any comment. Please talk to the Chairman or the DG for a comment,” Fernando said.
All attempts made to contact the Chairman and the DG proved futile.
When requested to obtain the Chairman/DG’s approval and give her side of the story as the allegation is leveled against her, she still refused to comment.
When Sajjana de Silva was contacted to find out why he did not accept the charge sheet issued by the former Chairman and how soon he intends to respond to the charge sheet sent by the Ministry Secretary, De Silva said he has requested the Ministry to provide the documents on which the charge sheet has been based on.
“Dr. Jasinghe has stated that the documents used to prepare the charge sheet can be obtained from the Ministry. I have requested these documents and once I get them, I will forward my responses. With regard to the charge sheet issued by the former Chairman, I am not bound to accept such an illegal document. I was a Board Member and the Chairman has no powers to issue a charge sheet against a fellow member. I raised this issue at the board meetings to which, all other board members accepted my argument. Had it been sent by the Ministry Secretary, I would have accepted and provided my responses,” De Silva said.
When inquired about the issuing of the scandalous mining licence, De Silva said, he cannot respond to the media as a charge sheet has been issued on the same subject. He said that he has to respond to the Chief Accounting Officer first.
“I am sorry, I cannot make any comment. But I refuse to accept all these allegations leveled against me,” he said.
Warning letter sent to Registrar Trincomalee by Liyanarachchi