An attempt by a Colombo-based team to carry out a land survey for potential mineral sand mining in a privately-owned coastal property in the Pesalai 50-housing scheme area of Mannar was thwarted this week following local Tamil resistance.
The survey, reportedly linked to the Mass Minerals company, began on the afternoon of Monday 19 May. Despite warnings from the Mannar Divisional Secretary that any such operation required prior approval from both the Coast Conservation Department and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the team proceeded without securing the necessary permissions.
Rather than coordinating with the Mannar District Land Survey Department, the survey team was dispatched directly from Colombo and arrived with drone equipment to scan the site. The lack of local consultation and regulatory oversight immediately triggered concern among Mannar residents and civil society groups.
Upon being alerted, the Federation of Community Organizations in the Mannar District intervened. Its chairman, V.S. Sivakaran, accompanied by human rights activist Fr. S. Jayabalan Cruz, representatives of fisheries unions, and local community organisations, arrived at the scene to confront the survey team.
Fr. Cruz stated that the team was operating without legal clearance. The survey team was brought in by the Mass Minerals company and had attempted to carry out the land measurements without securing proper authorizations, he said.
The matter was reported to the Mannar District Government Agent, who announced that the issue would be taken up at the upcoming District Development Committee meeting scheduled for 28 May. Until a decision is made, all surveying activity has been ordered to halt.
In the wake of the disruption, the survey team withdrew from the site. However, tensions escalated as journalists present to cover the incident reported disputes with members of the team, raising further concerns about transparency and accountability in the handling of the project.
V.S. Sivakaran, speaking to the press, reaffirmed the local Tamil community’s opposition to any mining efforts. The people of Mannar will never consent to coastal sand mining under any circumstances, he said.
The intervention follows a series of local campaigns across the North-East against extractive development projects initiated without community consultation or environmental assessments. Mannar, with its delicate coastal ecosystem and Tamil fishing population, has long been vulnerable to such exploitation. Civil society actors have previously warned that unchecked coastal development threatens livelihoods, cultural heritage, and the environment.
