File photograph.
The Sri Lankan Navy has allegedly been conducting land surveys in the J/435 Grama Niladhari Division of Chundikkulam, located in Vadamarachchi East, Jaffna, raising fears of further land appropriation and military expansion in the Tamil homeland.
According to I. Muralitharan, President of the Northern Province People's Land Rights Movement, naval personnel reportedly arrived from Trincomalee and began measuring fishing lands and private properties belonging to local Tamil residents without informing either the landowners or the appropriate civil authorities.
These lands, rightfully owned and occupied by the Tamil people, were surveyed without their knowledge, Muralitharan said, adding that the surveys were carried out in total secrecy.
When some residents noticed the activity and confronted the navy officers, they were reportedly told to produce proof of ownership or official land permits. However, in Chundikkulam, many families have lived on these lands for generations, cultivating trees and maintaining wells and homes, yet still lack formal documentation due to systemic neglect and displacement during the armed conflict.
The navy’s actions have raised alarm among locals and activists alike. Land surveys in Sri Lanka typically require the involvement of the Divisional Secretary, Grama Niladhari, fisheries cooperatives, and land registry authorities. None of these officials were informed, and the local Grama Niladhari reportedly had no knowledge of the operation.
It is a clear bypassing of due process, said Muralitharan, warning that the navy’s secretive conduct signals a potential bid to seize lands and expand its installations in the Chundikkulam region.
The area, which borders vital fishing zones, has already seen the militarisation of civilian land. Tamil residents fear that further naval encroachment will strip them of access to their coastline and primary sources of livelihood.
As time progresses, there is growing concern that the local fishing communities will be deprived of access to the sea and their means of survival, said Muralitharan, who noted that coordinated protests will be launched if the lands are not returned to their rightful owners.
The alleged land surveys are the latest in a broader pattern of militarisation across the North-East, where the Sri Lankan armed forces have continued to occupy vast swathes of land, suppress civilian life, and stifle economic recovery more than 16 years after the end of the armed conflict.
