Leader of the House and Minister of Public Enterprise, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development Lakshman Kiriella said a parliamentary debate will be held on the issue regarding the Wilpattu Forest Reserve.
Concerns have been raised in parliament that a social media campaign that has been launched recently by some interest groups accusing Minister Rishad Bathiudeen of the deforestation of the national forest to resettle displaced Muslims may lead to communal violence.
The Leader of the House told parliament on Saturday said that in 2012 on the recommendation of the former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, 2300 acres of land was cleared and given to Minister Bathiudeen to resettle some displaced families. However, the media has not reported this, he added.
Minister Kiriella made this statement in response to a question posed by parliamentarian Hesha Withanage.
MP Withanage said it is the responsibility of Parliament to provide accurate information on this.
“There is a big problem regarding the Wilpattu deforestation and the land acquisition in 2012. In this regard, give an adjournment debate. When this deforestation happened? Will it happen again? Minister Rishad Bathiudeen says no. This is a big problem for the government,” Withanage said.
Parliamentarian Chaminda Wijesiri said this issue will affect the future of the country. He said some groups are trying to create a serious problem in the present-day society and requested an investigation into the matter.
Kiriella said some groups through the Facebook is trying to portray that this government is responsible for the deforestation. He said the Government is prepared to debate the issue in Parliament and will look to fix an early date for the debate.
