Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development State Minister Dilip Wedaarachchi yesterday dismissed claims of the Joint Opposition (JO) that the government was going to evict people from the Hambanthota district to release 15,000 acres from the area to be given to China.
“The Joint Opposition is leading the public up the garden path,” he said, “As a person of the district and as a politician I say it with responsibility that there will be no taking over of any lands from the public.” The State Minister was speaking at a job market at the Netolpitya Youth Council in Tangalle.
“No land will be taken from the people in Hambantota to be allotted to China,” he said and added,” Nor shall we allow any such measures to be taken.”
“The government is trying to bring capital flows into the country to combat the debt trap that the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa administration had got it into under the banner of development,” he said.
“Joint Opposition MPs are spreading canards to create public unrest to sabotage the government’s steps in the direction of coming out of the debt trap,” he said.
“We will provide lands to Chinese investors to put up industries in line with our plans to create jobs for local youth to battle the economic mess which the previous regime has put us into,” he said.
But it will not be done at the expense of people’s lands in the Hambantota district. If it was going to be ripping people’s lands as the Joint Opposition has put it, would we, myself or Ministers Mahinda Amaraweera and Sajith Premadasa among others, allow such a thing to take its course?” he asked.