Ravikaran Writes to President, Prime Minister and Lands Minister Over Encroachment on Tamil Lands
12-Mar-2026.
Sri Lanka Tamil National Alliance MP Thurairasa Ravikaran has written to the Director General of the Mahaweli Authority urging immediate action to halt the alleged illegal construction of a salt pan by a Sinhalese businessman on lands belonging to Tamil residents in Kokkilai.
The letter has also been forwarded to the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Lands, highlighting that attempts to seize privately owned Tamil lands have caused distress among local residents and eroded their trust in both the government and the state administration.
In the letter titled Encroachment and Establishment of Salt Pans on Private Lands, the MP states that ancestral private lands belonging to Tamil residents in the Kunchukalveli area of the Kokkilai Central Grama Niladhari Division in the Karaituraipattu Divisional Secretariat of Mullaitivu District have been illegally leased by the Mahaweli Authority to a Sinhalese businessman from the southern region.
The businessman, who allegedly obtained the lease unlawfully, has reportedly begun efforts to establish salt pans by encroaching on these private lands, creating tensions between communities. Ravikaran urged authorities to take immediate action to halt these illegal activities.
He further noted that the affected lands fall within sections 17, 18 and 19 of Survey Plan TOPO PP70 maintained by the Surveyor General.
These private lands, along with adjacent grazing areas belonging to Tamil residents, were reportedly leased by the Mahaweli Authority in violation of existing laws.
Following complaints from residents, the MP personally visited the area on February 27 and confirmed the encroachment.
Later the same day, during a meeting held at the Mullaitivu District Secretariat under the chairmanship of the District Secretary, it was stated that a letter would be sent to the Mahaweli Authority instructing it to suspend the salt pan operations until the next District Coordinating Committee meeting.
However, it has been reported that work to establish the salt pans resumed on March 6 without prior notice. Ravikaran stressed that such attempts to seize private lands belonging to Tamil residents are causing distress among the people and weakening their trust in the government.
Copies of the letter have also been sent to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha, Mullaitivu District Development Coordinating Committee Chairman Upali Samarasinghe, the Northern Province Governor, the Mullaitivu District Secretary and the Karaituraipattu Divisional Secretary.
