Environmental organizations on June 05 handed over their investigation report to the president.

It points out, with the use of all gazettes and demarcation maps, that all these constructions are within the forest reserve, says head of the Biodiversity Conservation Centre Pubudu Weeraratne.

Although the Wildlife Conservation Department has issued a letter on 14 February 2013 permitting the use of 1,080 acres, the settlements had actually begun much earlier, in 2010, he said.

However, the Department cannot issue such a letter without carrying out an environmental impact assessment, said Weraratne, adding that the settlements had gone even beyond the acreage limit specified in the letter.

Those are not resettlements, but new settlements, the committee report notes, including the western coastal area which has been colonized and named Jasin City, after an organization which had funded it.

The main culprit is the political authority at the time, which had granted the land.

Weeraratne went onto say that the attention of president Maithripala Sirisena was brought to the road across the wildlife reserve to link Puttalam and Mannar which is a grave threat to environment.

The president gave an assurance that no one would be allowed to harm the environment, and said reports have been called from several sectors, adding that a final decision would be taken on the basis of these reports, he said.

Buddhist clergy led by Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, lawyer Jagath Gunawardena and other environmentalists attended the occasion, BBC Sandeshaya reports.