Doling Out State Land To MNCs!

Water is being unlawfully pumped from the Manik Ganga
(Gem River) by Dole farm. Photo Credit- NAFSO

From The Sunday Leader

Rajapaksa Regime Involved In Sri Lanka’s Largest Land Grab

By Dinuk Samarasinghe

In what might be Sri Lanka’s largest land grabbing scandal, local partners of the Dole Company, the world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables, is said to be working hand in glove with a powerful former Chief Minister connected to Sri Lanka’s previous ruling regime.

Despite claims of good governance activists that unscrupulous and fraudulent activities run by the previous regime have been put to rest with the election of President Maithripala Sirisena, The Sunday Leader learned that efforts are underway to grab more lands through third party companies as cat’s paws.

Government silent

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Councilor of the Western Provincial Council Ashoka Ranwala alleged that Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Director Vindhya Wijesekera, the wife of an employee of this former Chief Minister, is the main culprit. “Without the Chief Minister’s blessings you cannot carry out business deals of this nature and also of this magnitude. Dole Lanka use third party companies such as their local partner SL Agro Lanka and other firms and individuals to carry out their unscrupulous activities,” Ranwala added.

“These lands are expropriated by a third party businessman from encroachers and few farmers who in turn lease it out to Dole for Rs. 25,000 or so,” he explained, “The present government has, surprisingly, turned a blind eye  to these ongoing land grabs. We have conducted our own investigations.”

Sources speaking to The Sunday Leader on the condition of anonymity claimed that these lands belong to several State agencies such as the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, Department of Conservator General of Forests, Department of Wildlife Conservation, and lands owned by Buddhist temples under the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance No. 19 of 1931.

Breaching code of conduct & SC Rules

“We have details about a lawyer who is preparing deeds of declaration thereafter that the title is authentic. However the lawyer is also violating her code of professional conduct and Rules of the Supreme Court,” Ranwala added.

Ranwala’s investigation has determined that the lawyer in question has instructed Dole Lanka that lands belonging to the Mahaweli Authority, Forest and Wildlife Departments can be obtained for a lesser cost by utilizing deeds of declaration. The catch is that, according to the law, deeds of declaration cannot be used for the appropriation of State lands.

Deeds of declaration can be used to obtain a title, for instance, when lands belonging to you had not been included in the schedule to a deed of transfer or gift due to oversight. They cannot be used to obtain a title from those who have gained illegal possession (i.e. encroachers) and can never appropriate State lands. If this were the case, any citizen could appropriate State lands in this manner. Such an act would be a blatant violation of code of professional conduct rules laid down by the Supreme Court.

“Dole Lanka has been advised that it does not have to pay any monies due to the Government, as they have paid those due to the former Chief Minister. We have in our possession the document which the Chief Minister has obtained from the Land Commissioner of the Uva Province, which Dole Lanka is using as a ‘permit’,” Ranwala claimed.

Inaction

Ranwala has duly informed the new office of the Anti-Corruption Secretariat, yet, no concrete action has been taken, so far, to curb any future land grabbing by Dole Lanka. He is of the belief that this is proof that the former Chief Minister and the previous regime retains influence on the new government.

Although the government promised that measures will be taken to implement the anti-corruption initiative within 100-days, the Cabinet-approved Anti-Corruption Secretariat, under the purview of the Prime Minister, has so far not taken a single step to curb fraudulent activities of the former Chief Minister in question, he claimed.

The details of the letter dated June 15, 2015, are as follows:

Anti-Corruption Secretariat,

No. 101, R.A De Mel Mawatha,

Colombo 03.

Revelation of the mega land grab carried out by Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd

Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd with the mediation of SL Agro Lanka which is its land supplier in Sri Lanka has supplied close to 600 acres from Kuda Oya and another 500 acres from Demodara. These lands exceeding 1,000 acres have been obtained without resorting to any laid-down procedures or mechanisms when procuring State lands. Not only huge financial loss has been caused to the government, but the foreign company has engaged in many environmentally hazardous activities – the damage of which cannot be quantified.

In addition the foreign directors (of Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd) have been shown false documents misrepresenting these as permits for obtaining title of these State lands. The Legal Officer of Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd claims that the Company is in possession of inter alia, a letter issued by the Land Commissioner of the Uva Province, in its official correspondence.

I request that the above-mentioned information is adequate to merit a full inquiry to be held regarding this financial irregularity and to bring the suspects before the Law.

Ashoka Ranwala,

Councilor of the Western Provincial Council,

No 28, Colombo Road, Biyagama.

Using banned chemicals

Director of Forest Conservation, Anura Sathurusinghe told media that the Department would institute legal action against illegal possession of the lands in question and accused Dole Lanka and/or its local partner of using banned chemicals in cultivation of the said lands. In addition, the Director has said that the Department has intimated to Dole Lanka, in 2013, that they were illegally occupying the lands in question.

Under the provisions of the National Environmental Act No 47 of 1980, anything to do with environmentally sensitive land can be initiated only after an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). “Dole Lanka has not obtained a single EIA for any of its projects. This is one of the gravest breaches of our environmental laws and regulations by a single company thanks to patronage accorded by the royal family,” Sathurusinghe added.

Highly regrettable

Environmental activist Ravindra Kariyawasam of the Center for Environment and Nature Studies has deemed the situation to be  highly regrettable. According to Kariyawasam, since 2011, a whopping 150,000 acres belonging to national parks, sanctuary, river banks, catchment area and upstream lands, protected area and forest patches have been appropriated by MNCs (Multi-national companies), local companies and various individuals.

“For a country in the magnitude of Sri Lanka, with an extent of 65,525 square kilometers, this is a gigantic proportion,” he said, “The saddest part is the majority of these activities were conducted with the blessing of various members of the former ruling family. Out of this a staggering 49,525 acres or 75.5% of the total State land has been expropriated by Dole.” All attempts to get in touch with Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Legal Director and Legal Officer Vindhya Wijesekera were futile. All emails sent to Dole Inc President & Chief Operating Officer Johan Linden, Dole Lanka General Manager Leonardo Dominguez, Finance Director Samudra Hewawickrama, HR Director Anusha Weerasekera were unanswered.

 Dole Food Company Plunders Farm Lands in Uva Province, Sri Lanka

-   Herman Kumara, Convener, NAFSO, Chairperson, Praja Abilasha Network, JH Sri Lanka

The story of Uva province in Sri Lanka is the story of how the ruling class of Sri Lanka, in partnership with and the neo-colonial forces of corporate globalization, is displacing farmers from their homes, livelihoods, and destroying forests and water systems.

Uva is the country’s second largest province and one of the poorest. Despite being located in an arid zone, it is endowed with fertile soils and stable water reservoirs. It is famous as a major paddy (rice) producer and for its cultivation of vegetables, pulses, fruits, yams and cereals, all sold for prices lower than that of other local producers. Uva province is also home to the Lunugamvehera Wild Life Park, which protects the immediate catchment area of Lunugamvehera reservoir, acts as source of perennial water supply, and supports a diversity of wildlife species, especially wild elephants. This is one of the most ecologically sensitive areas of Sri Lanka, home to diverse flora and fauna.

Sadly, economic development of the province has been hurting the farmers, displacing them from their livelihoods, and polluting and drying up their water sources. The state has allowed the extensive conversion of lands there for the production of cash crops like sugar cane. The Pelawatta Sugar Factory, occupying 80,000 acres of farm lands, has been in operation there since the early 1980’s.

Today, the banana plantations of Dole Food Company have moved in with detrimental consequences for farmers, the land, water sources and wildlife; farmers have been forced to sell their land and move. Praja Abhilasha, the Joining Hands network in Sri Lanka, is working to lift up the voices of communities impacted by the activities and presence of Dole Food Company there.

Kirindi Oya and Menik Ganga are streams which provide a continuous water supply to the Veheragala and Lunugamvehera reservoirs which stock and distribute water to local paddy (rice) fields and nearby farms. But the banana plantations of Dole have been extracting large volumes of water from these streams and pumping out ground water, drying up regional water sources.

The lands acquired by Dole are actually forest reservations, which are home to rich forest cover and biodiversity. Dole uses large quantities of chemicals, which are heavily polluting the soil, contaminating water resources and threatening the health of both humans and wildlife. Company workers work under extremely hazardous conditions without the use protective gear when handling chemicals. A large number of peasants are now suffering from kidney failure, skin irritation, weak eye sight, and other health problems.

As the forest cover decreases, wildlife is moving into human habitats for fodder and water, increasing conflicts between humans and wildlife. Dole has constructed electric fences as protection from wild animals like elephants, which, seeking movement, have sought new passages across at least 17 peasant villages and are causing destruction.

The plantations use sprinkle watering which requires large volumes of water and is wasteful. Most of the water sprayed on the top soil evaporates before the plants even absorb it. Today, the Government transports water to wildlife parks and communities, causing additional costs to the public. The majority of small and marginal farmers are unable to cultivate their paddy farms because of a lack of water. This is negatively impacting health and the food security of the region. The peasants of those villages have become unable to survive through farming and now have no other choice but to work as laborers on the banana farms. Furthermore, Pradeshiya Sabha (local Government) and Provincial Council members, working in collusion with the Dole Food Company, are facilitating the transfer of lands from farmers to Dole, convincing the farmers of the non-viability of continuing with farming.  Dole buys the land at cheap prices and the politicians collect brokerage fees.

Some of the banana plantations encroach upon lands covered under the Lunugamvehera Wildlife Reservation. The Wild Animals and Vegetation Protection Act No.2 of 1937, revised by Parliament Act No. 22 of 2009, mentions in chapter nine that any development project within 1500 meters of wildlife parks must obtain written approval from the appropriate authority and must conduct an environmental impact study.  Gazette Notification No. 772/22, dated June 24, 1993, within the National Environmental Act, clearly states: “If any forest reservation larger than one hectare or any barren land larger than 50 hectares is needed to be cleared for a development project, there must be authorization to do so, aftera study on the impact on the environment.” Dole has not yet obtained environmental clearance to establish their banana plantations in Monaragala District.