CEJ to take legal action over degazetting of Vidataltivu

Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Chairman Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare yesterday said the organisation will take legal action against the Government’s move to degazette a section of the Vidataltivu Nature Reserve. 

According to Dabare, as an initial step the CEJ has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation. 

CEJ is seeking an authentic copy of Extraordinary Gazette 2383/05, dated 6 May, which de-gazetted a portion of the nature reserve. Dabare said that the extent of the degazetted land and other details remain undisclosed since the appendix containing the information has not been made public.

It has also requested information if the subject minister had obtained a study report on the impact the project may have on the reserve as stipulated by S. 2 (5) of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance. He said based on the response received, the CEJ will challenge the Government’s decision in Court. 

The vast national reserve officially named the ‘Vidataltivu Nature Reserve’ includes land covered in mangroves, as well as a large extent of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka’s third largest marine protected area.