by Easwaran Rutnam
The resettlement process in the North had run into a sticky situation after the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) decided to oppose any housing project in the North which did not have the approval of the council.A Resolution in this regard adopted by the council last Thursday has been dispatched to President Maithripala Sirisena.
NPC members said that the Resolution states that a proposed project to construct 65,000 houses in the North and East for war affected families does not have the approval of the council. The NPC is of the view that the houses are to be of poor quality and so should not be constructed in the North.
The NPC has also objected to a housing project of the army which is to be ceremonially declared open early next month by President Maithripala Sirisena.
The ‘Sathvirugama’ village of Reconciliation consists of 51 new homes at Kokeliya, Vavuniya built by the army 56th Division of the Security Force Headquarters in the Wanni and the 4 Corps of Engineer Services (4 CES) through funds of the ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The project will see houses being handed over to Tamil female soldiers and army personnel married to Tamil women.
NPC member Dr. Kandaia Sarveswaran said that the former government had constructed houses in the north saying it was for Tamils but later resettled Sinhalese families at those houses and now the “good governance” government is trying to do the same.
“They are trying to mislead the international community by saying it’s a reconciliation village but instead are trying to make Sinhalese colonies in the North,” he said.
The NPC member claimed that the houses have been built on land owned by Tamils in the area. He also claimed that the Tamil names of the roads are being changed and given Sinhalese names. He also said that there is a fear that having army families to be resettled in the area could lead to clashes in the future.
“They will disrupt the peaceful lives of the Tamils in the area,” he said.
Kandaia Sarveswaran said that the government has been urged to give the houses to civilian families and not army families.
He warned that if the project is taken forward then the government may force the Tamils in the area to fight for their rights once again.
However, the Ministry of Defence denied claims that the project was being used to change the demography in the North. Additional Secretary Sarath Chandrasiri Vithana said that the houses in Vavuniya have been constructed on government owned land. “This is a government project,” he said.
Each house erected on 40 perch land slots is worth about Rs 2 million. Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said last week that the project would help heal the wounds of Tamils.
The Navy has offered its assistance to prepare a new playground inside the complex while the Sri Lanka Air Force has undertaken the task of erecting a new children’s park. The Sri Lanka army has meanwhile promised to construct a community hall and the landscaping in the new house compounds with the support of all the regiments in the army.
“The new housing complex in Kokeliya symbolises the co-existence, reconciliation and the harmony that could be promoted by tri-services for the betterment of our society,” Hettiarachchi said.
Meanwhile Hettiarachchi also said that a total of about 3700 acres of land have already been released to the Jaffna civilians.
Hettiarachchi however said that land in some areas in the North are required by the military for security reasons.He said that those lands will not be released but the owners will be compensated by being paid more than the actual land value.
The government meanwhile says it has set a goal to close all IDP camps in the North, East and resettle the remaining war displaced families.
Lakshman Kiriella said that the government, during the last Parliamentary elections, gave an assurance that all the war displaced people will be resettled and IDP camps closed.
He said that since such a promise was given, the government is determined to complete that process soon.
There was also a concern that the Palaly airport will be expanded and that this will result in more people losing their homes.
The government however said that the Palaly airport in Jaffna will be converted into a regional airport and not an international airport.
Minister of Resettlement D.M. Swaminathan said that the government wants to ensure the war displaced are given homes and resettled soon.
The Minister said the government wants to have flights between India and Sri Lanka to operate from Jaffna.
However he insisted that the government has no plans to convert Palaly into an international airport and see more families in the North being displaced.