Former Governor accused of illegal land & power racket

January 10, 2025 at 12:52 PM

Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna has accused Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Director General for Community Affairs, of illegally acquiring 18 acres of land belonging to the Department of Wildlife and Forest Conservation.

Addressing the media yesterday, Minister Vidyarathna said several complaints had been received from various parties, including environmentalists, regarding a racket involving land at the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve, which was gazetted in 2013. 

Stating that the forest reserve belongs to both the Badulla and Monaragala Districts, Minister Vidyarathna said complaints had been received on the illegal acquisition of land and an unlawful electricity project in the area. 

He revealed that it had been found that a group had obtained 5482 acres of land in the area by giving instructions to officials without handing over proper documentation. 

“According to the project report, the land had been obtained by an individual identifying himself as K.T. Ranjith. We launched a probe to find this individual. It was found that he had used a fake NIC number for this purpose,” he said. 

Minister Vidyarathna said a probe into the NIC had found that it had an extra digit, and the original belonged to Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, who served as former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Director General for Community Affairs.

“This K.T. Ranjith is Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, the former governor. Now it is evident who is behind this racket. These people have also obtained high-voltage power lines,” he said. 

Minister Vidyarathna e said as a solution to this issue, it has been decided to grant electricity supply to the Unakanda Village in the area, assuring that the racketeers will not be given an opportunity to benefit from this. 

His comments come after it was found that 18 acres of land at the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve had been fraudulently acquired and that the CEB had approved a power project in the area at a cost of Rs. 120 million after receiving orders from the then President’s Secretary. (Newswire)