Land acquisition in the name of development

Opinion
By Editor_1
By Karvannan

Efforts to liberate the army-occupied civilian lands in the North are on a slippery slope, with a plea now being made to President Ranil Wickremesighe, who was on a visit to Jaffna recently, to have the said lands released.

When the war ended in 2009, more than 84,000 acres of land in the North and East, 90% of it private property, were under military control. The government has said most of the lands have now been released. But over 3,000 acres in Vali-North in the Jaffna district still remain under military control as high-security zones.

The government claims military control of these lands is needed for the security of Palaly Airport.  But the reality is, that these lands are being occupied as military bases and being insidiously used for the Buddhistization process.

Tamil people have long been protesting, demanding the release of occupied lands. And the government has responded with periodic announcements of land release, the most recent being a notice from the army last month that 23 acres of land under its control in the Puridalaivilan area will be released soon.

However, close on the heels of the army announcement comes news of a covert initiative by the government to reacquire 500 acres of land in the Vali-North region. Areas like Vasavilan, Kurumbacity, and Kuppizhan, previously under military control, but gradually released to the public and resettled, are now being targeted for expropriation and re-occupation, in the guise of expanding the Palaly Airport.

It is accepted that Palaly’s existing 1400-metre runway can only accommodate small 60-seat aircraft. To handle the larger 150-seater A320 aircraft, the runway needs to extend its length to 2300 metres and also expand the width accordingly.  For large aircraft carrying over 200 passengers, a 3200-metre runway is necessary.

However, no effort was made to develop the airport after the war ended and development efforts are being undertaken now because of India’s assistance. It is also pressure from India that led to the government declaring the Palaly Airport as the Jaffna International Airport allowing for daily flights from Chennai.

With Chennai flights being operated as a full service, the Airport made a profit of Rs 120 million last year, turning a profit the Mattala Airport has never been able to accomplish.

It is obvious that if more flights are to be added to Palaly Airport, the runway will have to be widened. But the government appears to be focusing only on acquiring land for the project and has not indicated whether it has the funds or the facilities for real expansion.

The existence of a plan to expand the airport and acquire 500 acres of land came to light only when the officials concerned visited the areas earmarked for acquisition based on the maps submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The government has so far maintained great secrecy about its plans to acquire large tracts of private land.  It knows full well that having acquired 3000 + acres of land belonging to the Tamil people for the High-Security Zones, which already includes the Palaly Airport, taking over an additional 500 acres in the same area will lead to massive protests.

This move is just as secretive as the Himalayan Declaration, the transfer of the President’s House, which is encroaching on 14 public lands, and the encroachment of land belonging to temples and monasteries.

The Palaly Airport and Kankesanthurai Port are important for the economic development of the Tamil people.  The upgrading of these two air and sea ports can have a significant impact on the economic development of the North. But taking away the fertile lands of the Tamil people to achieve this objective, is just inviting more trouble.

When the British built the Palaly Airport during World War II, it had a 2000-metre runway and covered an area of 359 acres. However, the government plans to acquire 500 acres of land just to expand the existing airstrip. It does not require much to comprehend the aggressive thinking behind the new Palaly expansion project.

The Air Force, which maintains its bases adjacent to Palaly and has its facilities to the north of the runway, is not ready to give up the bases or the facilities. Hence the government’s plan to expand the runway southwards, willingly ignoring the fact that doing so would cause thousands of people to lose their lands and give up their residences once again.

India is associated with the Palaly Airport project and there are reports that an Indian company will take over the operations of the Palaly Airport. This begs the question as to whether the new round of land acquisition is being carried out with India’s tacit blessing and encouragement.

Ever since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Jaffna, there has been talk about the Palaly Airport development project. At that time however, the Tamil National Alliance members of Parliament were adamant that not one piece of land should be taken away from the Tamil people to implement the Palaly Airport project.

But alas, a plan appears to be in place to expand the airport by acquiring 500 acres of land that belong to the Tamil people. If development in the North is possible only by driving the Tamil people from their lands, is such development necessary for Jaffna? This is something to think about.

-ENCL

 

 

Editor_1
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