High-Level meeting to speed up release of Jaffna-Palali lands

A high-level meeting was held yesterday (October 28) at the office of the Deputy Minister of Defence in Colombo to review the progress and address challenges related to the release of private lands in the Jaffna-Palali area to their rightful owners.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) and attended by Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), along with senior defence and administrative officials.

Discussions focused on overcoming operational and administrative challenges and reviewing the phased withdrawal of the military to speed up the release of remaining private lands. Officials also discussed finalizing new boundary alignments to reduce the impact on civilian properties while maintaining the security of essential defence installations.

Both the Deputy Minister and the Defence Secretary reaffirmed the Government’s strong commitment to resolving land-related issues as an important step in national reconciliation.

They stressed that the process would be carried out transparently, fairly, and in line with national security needs.