Sri Lanka’s Minister of Environment, Dammika Patabendi, has announced that 101,762.75 acres of land in the Vanni region will be released from state control. The move, framed by the government as a corrective measure, follows decades of military occupation and bureaucratic mismanagement that have left thousands of Tamil families displaced.
Minster did not provide timelines for releasing the land.
The government is responding more positively to the demands of the Tamil people in the days leading up to the vote on the resolution submitted by Western countries on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Correcting Historical Injustice
Speaking at the Vavuniya District Secretariat Auditorium, Patabendi stated that successive governments had “mistakenly” absorbed entire villages, farms, schools, and hospitals into forest reserves during flawed GPS surveys. He pledged that lands “legitimately belonging to the people” would now be returned in an orderly and transparent manner.
The announcement comes amid growing pressure from civil society and international observers to address long-standing grievances over land rights in the North and East. Patabendi emphasized that the release would not compromise Sri Lanka’s environmental goals, reiterating the country’s commitment to maintaining 32% forest cover by 2030—a target activists argue has historically been used to justify land seizures.
Committee Meeting and Development Plans
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister Anton Jayakody, MP M. Jegatheeswaran, District Secretary Sarath Chandra, divisional secretaries, and other officials. Discussions included plans to establish a botanical garden in Madura Nagar and an eco-park in Vannivilankulam, raising concerns among local campaigners that development projects may continue to displace communities under the guise of conservation.
Decades of Displacement and Resistance
Forcibly displaced Tamils across the Vanni have long fought to reclaim their ancestral lands. Human rights organisations and local activists accuse the state of using environmental regulations as a cover for land grabs, particularly in areas where the military maintains a heavy presence. Despite limited handovers in recent years, large tracts remain under occupation or earmarked for state-led development, leaving families in limbo.
The release of over 100,000 acres underscores the scale of dispossession and the state’s historical reluctance to resolve the land crisis. More than sixteen years after war’s end thousands of Tamil families remain displaced, with many living in temporary shelters or dependent on humanitarian aid.
Concerns Over Accountability and Transparency
Activists remain sceptical of the government’s intentions, noting that land releases are often selective, tied to surveillance-heavy development schemes, and lack clear timelines.
Campaigners argue that true accountability requires not just the return of land, but recognition of past abuses, reparations, and guarantees against future displacement.
( With the inputs from Tamil Guardian)