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| Saturday, 26 October 2002 |
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by Florence Wickramage Responding to our story of Friday 'LRC tender to cut 500 trees threatens largest Jak plantation' Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne when contacted by the Daily News said the Malekele Jak Plantation land was needed for development work. Moreover the jak trees had reached maturity and were being disposed of for timber value. Replying to a query the Minister said that the jak trees earmarked for disposal will be replaced with a new jak plantation. He said that the government valuer had valued the trees for two million rupees while the highest tender he received from the public was 6m rupees. The Minister also said that the Land Reforms Commission was not depending on the Treasury for funds but had to initiate its own funds. Moreover, the LRC was burdened with the payment of compensation to the people from whom the land had been alienated. Minister Senaratne said it was not only Jak but other tree species such as Teak and Mahogany also had to be cut down at maturity to make way for re-plantation. The Minister charged " when politicians of the earlier regime sold land and trees at around Rs. 75/- each, you people kept quiet. You should know what the government policy is. Do you want us to keep the trees and lands till the end of our lifetimes"? In the meantime Conservator of Forests (Operations) K.P.Ariyadasa said that the general lifespan of a Jak tree was around 100-150 years. However trees grown for commercial value like teak and mahogany could be harvested when the tree is around 35 to 40 years. The Jak tree is normally associated with the food item "kos". He pointed out that the removal of around 500 trees of any kind from one single location could pose environmental threats and as such if cutting down was necessary, it should be done after careful study. |
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