GSMB & Eastern Province Govenor23 Jul 2023 11:01
Saw this:
"War of letters between Eastern Governor’s Office and GSMB
A new bureaucratic ‘war’ of letters between the Eastern Governor’s Office and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) over devolved powers under the 13th Amendment has taken a different turn. The Governor’s office wrote back to the latter this week alleging he had received several complaints from the people that lands that were released for mine, mineral, industrial and fisheries purposes in the past are not being properly used.
“A number of civil societies, NGOs, politicians and people in the region questioned why those lands reserved for project purposes are not being properly used. It created a huge public agitation over the matter,” Governor’s Secretary L.P. Madanayake, wrote to the Director General of GSMB.
Earlier, the Governor informed District and Divisional Secretariats in the province to halt the processing of mineral sands, and industrial mineral proposals and not to release any lands which have deposits of valuable minerals in their respective areas, until the project is evaluated by the Provincial Minerals Evaluations Committee at the Governor’s Office.
The letter also noted that sand mining sites located in Chenkaladi and Batticaloa which were abandoned after the completion of the project without the rehabilitation of those lands. As a result, the letter noted it “impacted a huge environmental degradation and spreading of dengue fever in the region in the recent past.”
Reiterating that the earlier letter issued did not intend “any sort of interference into the subject matter of mine and mineral categorised under the reserved list of 13th Amendment to the Constitution,” the Governor’s Secretary noted that “it is a responsible and bonafide attempt as an executive hand of the province to mitigate the waste of public finance resources and attempts to use resources in a sustainable manner for the betterment of the people of the province and not to violate the procedures laid down in the mother law of the country.”
The letter with the annexe consisting of poor maintenance of sand mining sites was copied to the secretaries of the President, Prime Minister, the Environment Ministry and the Public Administration, Home Affairs, provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry in addition to the Attorney General and District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries in the province."
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230723/columns/bungalow-bungling-abuse-of-power-by-sabaragamuwa-pcs-former-members-526223.html
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