Nuwara Wewa protected area Is Semasinghe breaching the law in building a hotel?

Construction work at the controversial plot of land

The constructing of a hotel using both the reclaimed land in the Anuradhapura Nuwara Wewa protected area and Wewa itself became a controversial topic recently. Former State Minister of Samurdhi, Household Economy, Micro Finance, Self Employment, Business Development Shehan Semasinghe was accused of constructing a hotel on the Nuwara Wewa.

Permission should be obtained from several institutes prior to engaging in construction work on a tank or tank reserve. Many accuse Semasinghe of constructing this hotel without obtaining permission from any institute. This hotel is being built close to Isurupura area coming under the purview of the Nuwaragam Palatha East Pradesha Sabha. Written permission of the Pradesha Sabha planning committee of the relevant area should be obtained for any construction activity on a tank or tank reserve. Obtaining the permission of public institutes, environmental reports and reports related to non-protected areas is mandatory. However a land is being reclaimed and a construction activity is going on a land in the Nuwara Wewa reserve without such approval and Semasinghe is said to be behind both these activities, allege locals.

 “We made an inquiry from the Irrigation Department. If they do not grant approval we would have halted issuing the licence. According to the 88-88.5-metre survey the land belongs to the reserve. That is the tank reserve. Then we cannot issue licences”
- Ruwan Ekanayake Nuwaragam Palatha East Divisional Secretary

This land- where the construction is taking place-should have a legal licence issued by the Nuwaragam Palatha East Divisional Secretary. Sources at this institute maintained that the state minister made a request for a land after following the proper procedure. He has visited the Land Kachcheri to obtain lands on August 05, 2021. North Central Province Land Commissioner S. S. M. Sampath Rohana Dharmadasa has affirmed by writing that Shehan Asanka Semasinghe, a resident of Arunagama, Kelettewa has visited the Land Kachcheri under No 138 and made a request for a land spanning 28 perches. 

However a licence is yet to be issued for the said land. Permission should be obtained from several institutes when issuing a licence to a land in a tank reserve based on which it is decided whether the land should be given or not. However Nuwaragam Palatha East Divisional Secretary Ruwan Ekanayake has granted permission to the person seeking a licence to obtain benefits from the land until the documentation process is completed. This fact is proven by the letter No Anu/8/5/Bimsawiya/Gen dated 19.05.2021 bearing his signature. 

Semasinghe has commenced construction activities of the hotel after receiving that permission, locals in Anuradhapura said. Permission of several institutes should be obtained prior to issuing a land licence to a reserve area if a construction activity is planned. Registered Surveyor, Ajith Munasinghe said that the construction activities are in progress disregarding the need to obtain permission. The permission of the Irrigation Department should be obtained first as the lands come under the Nuwara Wewa reserve. The department should confirm in writing that the lands do not belong to the reserve. The plan should have the approval in keeping with the Urban Development Authority Act. Obtaining the permission of the Central Environmental Authority is also a must as the land is in a sensitive zone close to a tank. As a land reclamation process is involved the permission of the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation is also essential and the approval of the Agrarian Services Department should also be obtained as the lands of a tank are reclaimed.

“A top land official in Anuradhapura has advised him to transfer the land using a farmer’s licence and pretending that the beneficiary was a low-income earner. However this transaction could not be carried out due to the intervention of another officer. Then he proceeded to request for a land following the proper process”
-  Ajith Munasinghe 
Registered Surveyor

Land reclamation and construction activities are carried out in the Nuwara Wewa reserve without the approval of any of those institutes, an informed source told this writer. “Before making a request for these lands the former state minister tried to transfer the licence under the name of his aunt in Rukadawewa area in Nochchiyagama which was to be transferred later under his name. A top land official in Anuradhapura has advised him to transfer the land using a farmer’s licence and pretending that the beneficiary was a low-income earner. However this transaction could not be carried out due to the intervention of another officer. Then he proceeded to request for a land following the proper process,” Munasinghe added.

Munasinghe said that Semasinghe in the process of constructing the hotel had taken over the Nuwara Wewa and the reserve area. According to him the water level of the Nuwara Wewa is 88 metres. The 88.5-metre level is considered as the Wewa reserve. The former state minister has reclaimed a large area in the 88.5-metre level and made a construction there with a foundation that stands seven feet tall. The media revealed that the reclamation activities are carried out during the weekend. “The soil needed to fill the foundation of the construction is obtained from the elephant trenches dug in the wildlife reserve zone from Thalawa to Moragoda. Around 10500 cubes of soil were brought as calculated,” revealed Munasinghe.

The question remains how the reclamation is carried out without the awareness of the mentioned authorities.  When requesting for a land one has to present oneself at three Land Kachcheriyas. In this case only a letter has been handed over confirming such attendance. Questions are raised as to how the Nuwaragam Palatha Pradesha Sabha Chairman gave permission to reclaim the Wewa reserve by giving a legal value to such a letter, Munasinghe questioned. “When I inquired from the relevant institutes they said that the PS Chairman had done this on his own accord,” Munasinghe added. The approval of the PS alone is not sufficient for a construction in a Wewa reserve. Written permission stating that the relevant land is not in a reserve or under the Nuwara Wewa should also be obtained. The relevant institutes should confirm these matters. “How are these construction activities carried out without such approval,” Munasinghe questioned.

Land sold for Rs 3 million  

According to the land survey of the 88-88.5-metre area inside the Nuwara Wewa reserve boundary, lot no 27 and 28 belongs to Semasinghe. Both these lots are located at the Nuwara Wewa and inside the reserve. Therefore he is reclaiming a land on the Nuwara Wewa and the reserve, Ajith Munasinghe added. “A construction activity is carried out in the lot no 27 in the reserve area. An individual cannot obtain more than a half-acre of land, so the land is divided into five lots with licences under the names of four people. This is how he has purchased the whole land. Plan no 20321/33T shows this clearly. To prevent the tank water entering the said construction he has constructed a seven foot tall wall and filled the area with soil. But the land is still without a licence. Legal actions will be taken against the said individuals if these lands were forcefully taken over and reclaimed,” he added. Before the former state minister owned this plot, it belonged to a villager. We heard that he had sold his land to the minister for three million rupees, our spokesperson said. 

When inquires were made regarding giving permission to reclaim land and do construction work on a land without the approval of the planning committee, Nuwaragam Palatha PS Chairman S. B. Kumaradasa said that he was tired of giving details to newspapers. “I have other work. Try to find how the permission was given without asking me. Contact whoever responsible for that. I cannot answer these inquiries. All steps taken by me were legal,” he affirmed.

The request made by Munasinghe using the Right to Know Act to find how the permission was granted to construct and reclaim a land without a licence hadn’t produced a sound response. Nuwaragam Palatha East PS Secretary B. H. Pradeep Nishantha has stated that permission was granted according to the legal documents presented by the planning committee and the copy of its survey plan cannot be provided without third party agreement.
When we spoke to Nuwaragam Palatha East Divisional Secretary Ruwan Ekanayake to find out how legal rights were granted to reclaim a land just because an individual marked his attendance at the Land Kachcheri, he had this to say. “A development fee should be paid to purchase the land. Former State Minister Shehan Semasinghe cancelled the previous licence and bought the land. One of the lots is under his name and the rest is under the names of other people. We referred them to the Land Kachcheri as they were qualified to obtain licences. Before issuing licences, we inquired from the relevant institutes whether the land could be released. We made an inquiry from the Irrigation Department. If they do not grant approval we would have halted issuing the licence. According to the 88-88.5-metre survey the land belongs to the reserve. That is the tank reserve. Then we cannot issue licences,” he added.

When inquired as to how the land is being reclaimed and used for a construction without a licence Ekanayake replied, “When carrying out a construction or reclamation, the permission should be obtained from the local government authority. When we receive a request, we grant the right to benefit from the land before a Land Kachcheri issues the licence. Prior to the local government authority’s approval the approval of the public institutes is sought at the relevant planning committee to grant permission for construction. Obtaining the approval of the Irrigation Department is a must. If not land reclamation and construction activities of this land could be illegal. Then those constructions can be removed. In addition the Irrigation Department can file a case under State Lands (Recovery Of Possession) (Amendment) Act,” he added. It is evident from his statement that the state minister has requested for a land in the Nuwara Wewa reserve. What is important is that the Nuwaragam Palatha Divisional Secretary granted the right to enjoy the land until a licence is issued; while knowing it is for a reserve area.

So far, no one has informed me that this land does not have a licence and it belongs to the reserve. The relevant institutes have given me the approval to develop the said land. The irrigation department contacted me on March 31.  I will give them the relevant information. The relevant institutes have given me their permission to develop this land”
-  Shehan Semasinghe Former 
State Minister

 

Anuradhapura District Irrigational Director Eng. S. Mediwaka said that the Irrigation Department had not issued any approval for Shehan Semasinghe to do construct on the land or to reclaim it. “If the reclamation is carried out by force that could be halted as per Paragraph 65 of the Irrigation Ordinance. The District Secretary and the Divisional Secretary can enforce the law on such an illegal construction or reclamation after making an inquiry from the Grama Niladhari Officer of the area. They have the power to take legal actions. As per the irrigation law we can file a case under State Lands (Recovery Of Possession) (Amendment) Act. “I need the proper legal documents for that. We will take legal actions regarding this anyway. If a construction activity is carried out on a reserve land without a licence, such construction can be removed. We have not given approval and when contacted Semasinghe said that there is a licence for his land. We have not given approval to him for any construction or reclamation work in the reserve. He had not requested for our permission till last week. However construction and reclamation activities have been ongoing for months. Contact Irrigation Eng. Lasidu in charge of Nuwara Wewa for more details,” said Mediwaka.

Irrigation Eng. Lasidu said that Semasinghe was contacted regarding the reclamation of the tank reserve. “The former state minister said that he has a license for the land. We requested him to submit it. Our permission has not been obtained for this construction. Other public institutes got our approval only to clarify the reserve land. We do not allow any construction in a reserve. The Nuwara Wewa reserve is measured by the Survey Department. According to those surveys, if Semasinghe’s land is in the reserve area, the law can be enforced. We have requested the Divisional Secretary to explain about the nature of the deeds. After that we will file a case under State Lands (Recovery Of Possession) (Amendment) Act,” Eng. Lasidu added.

 “I need the proper legal documents for that. We will take legal actions regarding this anyway. If a construction activity is carried out on a reserve land without a licence, such construction can be removed. We have not given approval and when contacted Semasinghe said that there is a licence for his land. We have not given approval to him for any construction or reclamation work in the reserve”
-  Eng. S. Mediwaka Anuradhapura District Irrigational Director 

Thiwankachethiya Rajamaha Vihara Chief Incumbent Ven. Rathgama Samitha Thera said that a plan had been prepared to reduce the protected area of the tank. “They are trying to reduce the reserve area of the tank from 88.5 metres to 88 metres. They have planned to even formulate laws and are trying to legalise the land taken over at the Nuwara Wewa. Public officers continue to turn a blind eye to these matters,” he added.
When inquired whether the UDA gave approval to the hotel constructions of Semasinghe at the Nuwara Wewa, UDA North Central Provincial Director H. W. Somaratne said that the UDA had not given approval to the construction activities of Semasinghe at the tank reserve. “With a valid licence, there should a plan approved by the municipality or the Pradesha Sabha for construction work. If the land is in a reserve area the approval of other public institutes should be obtained prior to that. If a construction activity is carried out without a licence, the relevant local government authority can remove them or the public institute to which the reserve belongs can remove them, if it is in a reserve. Our approval has not been sought yet. We will look into these constructions. If they do not follow the correct procedure, then they are illegal. The planning committee gives the approval only after obtaining the field visit report, public inspection report, environmental report and irrigation report. We have our representative attending the planning committee sessions. He will not give approval for illegal activities. But if a construction has been carried out without the approval of the planning committee such construction cannot be allowed and can be removed,” he added. A spokesperson for Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation said no approval was given to Semasinghe to reclaim land. Central Environmental Authority Chairman Siripala Amarasinghe said that after confirming with the Anuradhapura CEA office the authority had not given approval for any reclamation or construction activity at the Nuwara Wewa. When inquired whether these constructions can be halted Anuradhapura District Secretary Janaka Jayasundara said that even though he can interfere as per Paragraph 65, in a case of land reclamation, the Divisional Secretary has the power to do so. “According to the amended act, when recovering the possession of a land acquired for a long time all the powers are under the public institute in charge of the reserve. Therefore it is the Irrigation Department that should take actions,” the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson of the Anuradhapura Municipality maintained that its approval was not given for any construction activity of the former state minister. Anuradhapura District Agrarian Services Department refused to comment.

They are trying to reduce the reserve area of the tank from 88.5 metres to 88 metres. They have planned to even formulate laws and are trying to legalise the land taken over at the Nuwara Wewa”
- Ven. Rathgama Samitha Thera

“I have received permission to develop this land” 
-Shehan Semasinghe

When inquired former State Minister Semasinghe asked to contact Nuwaragam Palatha Divisional Secretary to check whether his land possesses a licence. He added, “So far, no one has informed me that this land does not have a licence and it belongs to the reserve. The relevant institutes have given me the approval to develop the said land. The irrigation department contacted me on March 31.  I will give them the relevant information. The relevant institutes have given me their permission to develop this land,” he added.
When inquired which institutes had given approval he refused to give details, but added, “The Irrigation Department has made inquiries from me to obtain details and I will cooperate,” he said.