The Mahaweli Development Authority has been accused of unlawfully handing over traditional lands in the war-affected Vanni region to a private company from southern Sri Lanka for the development of a saltern.
Public representatives in the Northern Province have joined protesting Tamils who are losing their lands due to this move.
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Vanni MP Thurairasa Raviharan informed the Mullaitivu District Secretary that the Mahaweli Development Authority had begun clearing traditional Tamil farmlands – without permission – to establish a new saltern in the Kokkuthodvai Central Grama Niladhari Division.
Following this, Mullaitivu District Secretary Arulanandam Umamaheswaran, in a letter dated 10 March 2026 to the Director General of the Mahaweli Development Authority titled “Complaint regarding the Mahaweli Authority providing private lands for the construction of a saltern,” recommended that the permission granted for ongoing activities on the land be temporarily suspended until the ownership of the land allocated for the project is conclusively verified.
The District Secretary had also forwarded complaints from landowners, along with relevant documents, stating that the Mahaweli Development Authority had acquired 50 acres of land without approval for the construction of the saltern in the Kokkothuduwai area.
He further informed the Director General, quoting reports from the Survey Department, that preliminary investigations have confirmed the presence of private lands and grasslands within the 50 acres allocated for the project.
Provincial reporters state that the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, K.D. Lal Kantha, who attended the Special District Coordination Committee meeting in Vavuniya on March 12, was informed of the land acquisition by ITAK Vanni District MP Thurairasa Raviharan.
At the meeting, the Minister had instructed Mullaitivu District Secretary Arulanandam Umamaheswaran to ‘look into the matter and take necessary action’.
An official from the Mahaweli Development Authority present at the meeting informed the Minister that official approval for the saltern project had been obtained at the Welioya Pradeshiya Sabha Coordinating Committee meeting.
The official further stated that no complaints regarding land ownership had been received by the Mahaweli Development Authority, and that any individuals claiming rights to the land could submit complaints to the Authority for appropriate action.
Former MP and General Secretary of the Tamil National People’s Front, Selvarajah Kajendran, visited the site of the proposed saltern on March 15, along with Tamil residents claiming ownership of the land.
Protesters at the site requested him to urgently engage with relevant government authorities and take steps to restore their lands.
In addition to government security forces, several state institutions including the Department of Archaeology, the Department of Forest Conservation and Wildlife, and the Mahaweli Development Authority have faced ongoing accusations of forcibly acquiring lands belonging to Tamil people in the North and East of Sri Lanka.