Programme to remove oil palms gets underway

By Ifham Nizam

Acting on the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has initiated a programme to eradicate Oil Palm (Katupol) cultivation in Sri Lanka and introduce alternative cultivations on those lands.

Accordingly, all oil palms in Sri Lanka would be removed, CEA Chairman S. Amarasinghe said.

Oil palm cultivations, at present, covers some 12,000 hectares in Sri Lanka.

The project is expected to be completed within five years with 20 per cent of the earmarked land expected to be cleared and replaced with rubber, etc.

Steps had been taken to implement the plans in a manner that was not harmful to the environment during the implementation of the programme, an official said.

The preliminary discussion, regarding the removal of oil palm cultivation, was held on Monday at the Central Environmental Authority.

The meeting was chaired by the CEA Chairman and attended by the Directors of the CEA and officials of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Plantation Industries.

District Secretaries of Kegalle and Galle, the Deputy District Secretary of the Kalutara District and a representative of the Matara District Secretary were also present.

The Assistant Director of the Rubber Research Institute and representatives of the Environmental Police Division also participated in the discussion. Arrangements have been made to hold the proposed Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting on this programme on May 11 at the Ministry of Environment under the patronage of Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment.