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Acting Agriculture Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara said that land belonging to the Agriculture Department wouldn’t be given to the private sector.
Addressing a recent meeting at Gannoruwa to evaluate the progress at farms managed by the Agriculture Department, he said that many individuals and private sector organisations wanted to utilise their land but they wouldn’t grant their requests.
Acting Director General of the Department of Agriculture Dr. Ms. Janadari de Soysa chaired the meeting at the In-service Training Institute, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya on Friday (31).
Minister Nanayakkara said that some of those who had approached the Agriculture Ministry claimed they were close relatives of VIPs, including Cabinet ministers.
A person identified as Herath, who had taken control of a vast extent of Agriculture Department land, had played out the department before leaving the country, the minister said. Action was now being taken to recover what was owed to the Department.
Action against Herath was now being taken to recover dues, the minister said.
He warned officials not to make an attempt to deceive him as he was capable of keeping track of things. He also directed that lands allocated to farms be exclusively utilized for the production of food items and not to grow trees. He emphasised that they shouldn’t mix up business of the Agriculture Department with that of the Ministry of Environment.
