Jaffna District Secretary Maruthalingam Pratheepan stated that nearly Rs. 169 million allocated by the Ministry for the construction of a world-class indoor sports stadium in the Jaffna District will be transferred back to the Buildings Department, as the funds have not been utilized.
He made this statement while responding to a question on the indoor sports stadium during the District Development Committee meeting held at the Jaffna District Secretariat.
The District Secretary further noted that it is well known that a court case related to the proposed indoor sports stadium is currently pending at the Jaffna courts. Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, construction activities cannot be carried out until the case is concluded. As a result, steps have been taken to reallocate the allocated funds to the Buildings Department.
He added that if a court order permitting construction is granted, work on the stadium will commence accordingly. If not, an alternative land will be identified, and necessary steps will be taken to construct the indoor sports stadium at a different location.
The construction of this indoor sports stadium had been decided to take place in the Old Park area of Jaffna, and the foundation stone was laid under the leadership of the Northern Governor.
However, stating that the Old Park should not be destroyed to build an indoor sports stadium, a social activist approached the court seeking an injunction against the project. Former Member of Parliament M. A. Sumanthiran appeared in court on behalf of the petitioner. In this context, the court issued an interim injunction preventing the construction of the indoor sports stadium.
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