The Court of Appeal has issued notices to the Minister of Lands, the Minister of Environment and several other parties, asking them to appear before the court on November 28 regarding a petition filed seeking an order to prepare a national plan for land management in the country. The notices have been issued in relation to a petition filed by the Environmental Justice Center.
The petition was taken up before a bench of the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Dhammika Ganepola and Aditya Patabendi today (11).
Attorney-at-Law Ravindranan Dabare, who appeared for the petitioner, pointed out that many problems have arisen due to the lack of a national plan for land management in the country.
The lawyer further pointed out that many environmental and other crises have arisen in the country due to the failure to properly identify and demarcate the lands that should be allocated for agricultural activities, forests, swamps, settlements, etc.
Having considered the facts presented, the Court of Appeal bench ordered the issuance of notices to several parties, including the Minister of Lands, the Minister of Environment, and the Director General of Wildlife, who are named as respondents in this matter, to appear before the court on November 28th.