Rs. 60.1 Million Allocated for Chemmani Mass Grave Excavation, Including Bone Analysis

A total of Rs. 60.11 million (Rs. 60,109,800) has been allocated for the excavation and related forensic work at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna, including the budget for bone analysis, according to updated financial information.

The excavation has been conducted in three phases over approximately 110 days, with 584 human remains recovered from the site so far.

According to the available financial details, allocations were made across the three phases, with the combined allocation for the excavation phases initially recorded at Rs. 54,907,800. The updated total of Rs. 60,109,800 includes the additional budget allocated for the analysis of recovered human remains.

For Phases One and Two, the total allocation was Rs. 33,057,800. Of this, Rs. 10,029,221.59 was utilized, while Rs. 23,028,578.41 remained unspent and was returned to the Ministry of Justice.

A further Rs. 21,850,000 was allocated for Phase Three. However, detailed expenditure information for Phase Three was not available as of the latest update.

The updated overall allocation of Rs. 60,109,800 therefore includes the budgets for all three excavation phases as well as bone analysis. The confirmed expenditure figure currently available is Rs. 10.03 million for Phases One and Two, while the expenditure details for Phase Three and the related forensic analysis have yet to be made available.

Meanwhile, Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Chairman Mahesh Katulanda said measures would be expedited to collect blood samples from relatives of missing persons and conduct DNA testing to assist in identifying the human remains recovered during the excavation.

The Chemmani excavation and the identification process are expected to remain a key focus as authorities work to establish the identities of the recovered remains and provide answers to the families of those who disappeared.