MP Gajendrakumar Accuses Anura Government of Delaying Valikamam North Land Release

Jaffna District Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has accused the Anura Kumara Dissanayake government of misleading Tamil people with promises to release privately owned lands in Valikamam North that remain under military control.

He made the remarks when contacted for his response to recent comments by Minister of Lands and Deputy Minister of Defence Ramalingam Chandrasekar regarding the release of private lands in Valikamam North.

Ponnambalam said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had promised during his presidential election campaign in Jaffna that lands belonging to civilians and held by the security forces would be returned to their rightful owners.

“Nearly two years have passed since that promise, yet the lands have still not been fully returned,” he said.

He noted that affected residents have continued to stage weekly protests in areas including Thaayitti, Palaly, Vasavilan and Myliddy, demanding the release of their ancestral lands.

Referring to Minister Chandrasekar’s recent statement that instructions had been issued under the President’s direction to take action on the Valikamam North land issue and that a favourable decision was expected by the end of September, Ponnambalam said that no meaningful land release had taken place.

“According to the information I have, more than 2,000 acres of private land in Valikamam North remain unreleased. There are attempts to release only a few acres and create the impression that the issue is being resolved,” he alleged.

Construction of Palaly Military Hospital

Ponnambalam also raised concerns over the construction of a military hospital in Palaly.

He said the Jaffna District Development Committee had previously passed a resolution calling for the construction activities of the Palaly military hospital, allegedly being carried out on private land, to be halted.

“Despite that decision, the Anura government is continuing construction of the military hospital at a very rapid pace on private land,” he alleged.

He further questioned whether income generated through agricultural activities carried out by the military on lands belonging to Tamil civilians is being transferred to the Treasury or being used for military expansion in Valikamam North.

Seventeen years after the end of the nearly three-decade-long civil war, Ponnambalam said, people in Valikamam North continue to face difficulties returning to their ancestral lands and many are still living in rented houses.

He also alleged that the military continues to conduct agricultural activities on the fertile lands belonging to displaced residents and derives significant income from them.

Ponnambalam called on the government to release all remaining private lands in Valikamam North without further delay and said that releasing only a small number of acres should not be presented as a solution to the wider land issue.