Batticaloa Campus had acquired 15 acres illegally – CID

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has uncovered details of an illegal acquisition of Government land for the controversial Batticaloa campus owned by former Eastern Province Governor , M.L.A.M. Hizbullah. CID sources said the owners of the campus had allegedly acquired 15 acres illegally to build the Campus in addition to the land given by the government.

CID sources the land given to build the campus, belonging to the Mahaweli Authority had been released in 2013 to an organization called the Hira Foundation.

The land had been released after a request was made for a land to build an educational institution to provide free vocational education to youth in the Eastern Province.

Subsequently a 35 acre land on a lease of Rs.14,340 per acre had been released to the above named foundation.

The CID sources said the land given to the Heera Foundation had been given to build an Arabic University in 2018. During the process an additional 15 acres of adjoining government land too had been acquired.

The CID sources said Rs.4.5 billion had been received to build the campus and from this amount Rs.3.6 billion had been given by a Saudi organization. Hizbullah was questioned by the CID several times over the issue.

(Source: Daily News – By Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe)