Cardinal goes to court challenging gazette vesting Muthurajawela lands to UDA

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Head of Sri Lanka's Catholic Church His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith filed a writ application with the Supreme Court on Saturday (6) challenging the President's gazette to hand over more than 3862 hectares of lands in Gampaha District to the Urban Development Authority.

His Eminence is seeking a writ order making null the extraordinary gazette, where over three thousand hectares of land in Negombo, Wattala, Ja-Ela and the Muthurajawela Marshy Lands are to be given to the UDA.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, State Minister Nalaka Godahewa, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Wildlife Minister C. B. Ratnayake, UDA Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation & Development Corporation Chairman R. De Zoysa among 17 others were named as respondents in the application.

The Extraordinary Gazette was issued on the 7th of October 2021, for the purpose of conservation and sustainable use of Muthurajawela environmental sensitive zone and Develop as a Ramsar Wetland.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith notes that if the Extraordinary Gazette is enforced the people in the area will have to face serious issues, and those actions will be irreversible, therefore, he sought an interim injunction be issues preventing from any action being taken as per the gazette.