The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the decision taken by the Urban Development Authority to take over more than 3,000 acres of land in the Muthurajawela wetland in the Negombo, Wattala and Ja-Ela areas through a gazette notification.
Prime Minister and Urban development Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, State Minister of Urban Development Nalaka Godahewa, Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, Chairman of the Urban Development Authority, Central Environmental Authority, and Divisional Secretaries of Wattala, Negombo and Ja-Ela have been named as respondents.
The Cardinal has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court stating that the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has decided to take over more than 3,000 acres of land belonging to the Muthurajawela Wetlands in a gazette notification issued on October 07.
In his petition, the Cardinal Ranjith pointed out that the takeover would severely affect the livelihoods of the people living in the area and would challenge their residences as well.
Accordingly, the Archbishop of Colombo has requested in his petition to issue a writ order invalidating the gazette notification containing the decision taken to take over the relevant land under the Urban Development Authority.