Land fragmentation declines coconut production - PM

COLOMBO: Coconut production had dropped sharply due to the indiscriminate fragmentation and sale of coconut lands leading to a serious downfall of coconut based industries, said Prime Minister and Internal Administration Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka.

The Prime Minister speaking at the opening of Vidunenin Kaprukata Coconut Industrial and Agricultural exhibition at a Lunuwila Coconut Research Institute on January 26. The exhibition concludes on January 30.

If we are to minimise this situation and ensure coconut development we should cry halt to the partitioning and sale of coconut lands.

The Prime Minister said the Provincial Councils are empowered to stop the fragmentation of coconut lands but the partitioning and sale of coconut land for various constructions continued unabated.

This unhealthy trend could be stopped if Provincial Councils joined hands with the Local Councils under their purview and formulated and implemented stringent laws against this unhealthy practice.

The Prime Minister said however the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country should be maintained to ensure development in any sector leave along the coconut industry.

The people should never assist or condone terrorist acts which tried to jeopardise the country's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Government had put stringent laws and regulations in place to prevent any direct or indirect involvement in terrorism by the public.

Commenting on Coconut Development Minister Salinda Dissanayake's claim that his Ministry had achieved the target of planting coconut on 5,000 acres of new lands last year, the Prime Minister said the Ministry should do a field investigation and see whether the figure has correct without depending on statistics provided by officials.

Coconut Development Minister Salinda Dissanayake and Public Estate Management and Development Minister Milroy Fernando also spoke.