Construction of Mannar wind power project challenged in SC

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda  

An environmental organisation today filed a Fundamental Rights application in the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing the authorities from issuing any permits or approvals to carry out the wind power plant project in the Mannar Island. 

The Petitioner Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka filed this application seeking an order preventing the authorities including Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority from engaging in or carrying on the Mannar wind power project (Phase – II).  

The Petitioner stated that the Cabinet of Ministers, has purportedly decided to award the construction and operation of the Mannar Wind Power Project (Phase-II) in the Mannar Island to Adani Green Energy Sri Lanka Limited (AGESL), as a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) project for a period of 25 years.  

The petitioner stated that Sri Lanka, being the southernmost destination of the ‘Central Asian Flyway’, acts as a vital global hub for about 15 million migratory birds of 250 species annually. Mannar also functions as a critical overwintering ground for about one million birds, encompassing 175 species of birds including 26 globally 
threatened species.  

The Petitioner states that any obstruction to this pathway will cause significant disruption to the migratory patterns of these birds.  

The Petitioner state that the Mannar Island has been selected for this Wind Power Plant Project being motivated by extraneous considerations, in as much as, there is no other scientific and an objective reason to select Mannar Island for the said Project, which is a highly sensitive area for the environment and for bird life.