Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen was supporting the illegal clearance of pristine forest in the Mullaithivu area, with his supporters using the cleared land to build settlements, Northern Provincial Councillor Thurairajah Ravikaran charged.
Mr Ravikaran said the occupation of land in the region has been ongoing for years, with the complicity of state officials and warned that locals would protest if this did not stop.
The councillor said that 60 acres of forest had already been cleared and the land given to Minister Bathiudeen's supporters.
Mr Ravikaran stressed that the identity of the settlers, who are Muslim, like the minister, was not the issue, but that all settlements from outside the district would be opposed, as locals continue to be in need of land.
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