Muturajawela and housing scheme – Historical perspective

A news item in the Daily Mirror of March 15, 2018, titled ‘Private Co. grabs Muturajawela land for housing scheme’, has caused alarm to environmentalists who feel that the rich biodiversity of this wetland would result in irreparable and extensive damage to the fauna and flora especially the migrant bird life.

The Muturajawela area is identified to contain peat, which is a low form of coal that could be used to generate electricity.

I shall in this short report try to trace the historical background of the evaluation of peat and its impact on the environment and the other issues that have been recorded from 1947.

Historical background 
It is reported that a special committee was appointed by the then Agriculture and Lands Minister in 1971 to study the peat deposit and in this report, it is mentioned that an attempt was made by a Soviet firm in 1947 to exploit the peat deposit. In 1961, these investigators suggested the possible use of the Muturajawela peat bog for industrial and agriculture purposes. The extent at that time was over 460 hectares or 1136 acres.

The Finland Foreign Affairs Ministry awarded a contract to Ekono to conduct a detailed study on the feasibility of the potential use of peat. The Geological Survey Department (GSMB) supervised the field surveys and the assessment of reserves in consultation with the University of Ceylon Peradeniya, in collaboration with Resources Development Consultants (RDC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board was Ekono’s counterpart.

Location of peatland: It is situated north of Colombo extending from Hendala in the south to the Negombo lagoon in Seeduwa in the north. On the east and west, it is bounded by the Old Dutch canal and Hamilton canal, respectively.

Extent: 2900 hectares (7,165 acres) is open wetland, a suitable ecosystem for peat-forming vegetation. However, only a portion of this area is identified as geological peat land where an accumulation of peat is more than one meter hick.

Quality of peat: The pet layers contain hays and reeds and classified as sedge group and the age of the peat is 7300 +_ 95 years BP and the accumulation rate has been 0.6 mm/year.

The whole of the peat land has been drained for rice cultivation.

The sulphur content is very high compared to coal and other fuels.

The mean bitumen content of the ash-free peat is 1.26 percent, which is considered too small to warrant any further planning.

Socio-economic impact of peat production    
This study was conducted by Resource Development Corporation (RDC) and it was revealed that the usable peat area is not more than 250 hectares (618 acres) and the area is located away from roads where houses are mainly located.

Environmental study 
The above study carried out by Ekono in 1985 has revealed that the area contains water holes and marshy land and the water is impure and brackish. During the periods of less water in the Kelani River, sea water flows into the area through the Hamilton canal.

The plants that grow in the area, except for the land reclaimed, are grasses and bushes resistant to brackish water.

Buffalos and cattle could thrive in the area but at the time of the survey, only a very small number of these domesticated animals were found.

The Ekono survey also revealed that there was not much bird life and the fish living in the water holes are local verities such as ‘Loola’ ‘Karaviya’, ‘Anda’ and ‘Magura’ and the breeding of new verities of fish has not been successful. People living in the area are bitten by mosquitoes and the burning of dried mud gets over this health hazard.

The water in the swamp is impure and if peat production is carried out, the water will be further polluted. The people strongly resisted this project unless a proper drainage system is designed to prevent the pollution of canal water. 

It has been suggested that the link between the canal and swamp be prevented by closing about eight to 10 anicuts along the Hamilton canal. However, such action will result in excessive water in the swamp, causing floods and stagnation of water.

The drainage system also needs to be developed to prevent seepage of sea water, which will create more problems.

Conclusions and recommendations of Ekono study 
According to the field studies carried out in 1985, the total quantity of peat available in Muturajawela is 258000 tonnes. This study was mainly directed to find out pest for use in a power plant. 

The reserves will support 2-3 MW electricity generation for about 20 years only and this is about one-tenth of the rated output of the Kelanitissa power plant at that time. 

It was concluded that a peat-fired power plant would not be economically viable. Further, the use of the peat deposits in Muturajawela will replace only about 120,000 tonnes of imported oil.

Conclusions and recommendations
It is concluded that the Muturajawela area is covered mainly by marsh and swampy lands with a peat bog at the centre, which is not economical to exploit for steam- generated power.

Since the area covers 7130 acres, it is reported that only 406 acres have been allocated to construct a housing scheme. This area is only 5.7 percent of the total area.

It was also revealed from the Ekono study that the area was under the Agriculture and Lands Ministry in 1971 and in 1985, the area came under the GCEC to control and develop the Muturajawela area. During this period, assessable marsh land was about Rs.300 per perch and the farm land and housing area was about Rs.2,000 to 4,000 per perch.

According to the press report of March 15, 2018, the Agrarian Services Department has been paid Rs.32,551,000 for 65,102 perches at Rs.500 a perch compared to Rs.300 in 1985. It is also noted that now the Muturajawela area, which was under the Agriculture and Lands Ministry and later the GCEC, is under the Agrarian Services Department. It appears that if the area is sold, the marsh value has not been appreciated much but if it is cultivated or used for housing areas, the value received is very low.
I am not aware whether the area sold by the Agrarian Services Department is in a protected natural reserve and whether it is marsh land or not.

It is recommended that a full environmental impact assessment study should be undertaken under the supervision of the Environment Authority to see whether endemic species of fauna and flora exist in the area and what action should be taken to drain the area from salt water and floods, if the housing scheme is finally approved. It is also reported that the area is common ground for migratory birds.

(Reference: Feasibility Study of the Potential Uses of Peat in Sri Lanka – Foreign Affairs Ministry – Finnish International Development Agency – 1985)
(Dulip J. Jayawardena, a retired Economic Affairs Officer United Nations ESCAP, can be contacted at [email protected])