An explosive investigation uncovers a covert operation, led by ruling party MPs, to illegally build a road through Sinharaja’s heart, directly threatening dozens of unique species with extinction and shattering the government’s core environmental promises.
A grave environmental and political crisis is emerging from the Kalawana region, where Ratnapura District Parliamentarian for the National People’s Power, Dr. Janaka Senaratne, and Pothupitiya Division Representative of the Kalawana Pradeshiya Sabha, Namal Premaratne, are accused of jointly orchestrating an illegal and ecologically catastrophic plan. Their scheme involves dividing the Sinharaja Forest Reserve to clear a highly sensitive sub montaneous rainforest ecosystem and construct an 8 kilometer long road from Ilumbakanda to Suriyakanda.
In pursuit of this plan, technical and development officers from the Kalawana Pradeshiya Sabha and the Kalawana Divisional Secretariat have conducted measurements and prepared financial estimates for the proposed road. A sum of Rs. 2.2 million has been allocated for its initiation. Notably implicated in formulating this illegal road plan is Janaka Dassanayake, a development officer from the Kalawana Divisional Secretariat, who is already under a cloud of corruption for building a private hotel on the banks of the Kudawa River within the Sinharaja reserve.
Approval for this project was allegedly secured during a coordination committee meeting held at the Kalawana Divisional Secretariat on August 28, 2025. Empowered by this approval, residents of the Ilumbakanda area have commenced the illegal clearing of forest within the Sinharaja Forest Reserve along the proposed road path. MP Namal Premaratne has reportedly promised these constituents that following the road’s construction, land will be distributed for cardamom cultivation within the lower layer of the sub montane forest. Consequently, locals have started clearing the forest while preventing outsiders from entering the area to obscure these activities.
This damaging initiative mirrors a failed attempt from fourteen years ago. Back in 2011, former Ratnapura District MP Janaka Wakkumbura and MP Namal Rajapaksa collaborated in a plan to acquire a vast forest area in Ilumbakanda and Suriyakanda. They allocated Rs. 6.5 million through the Ministry of Highways to build the same road, promising residents one hectare of forest land each after its completion. Their broader strategy was to prevent the transfer of a large forest area from the Land Reforms Commission into the reserve, thereby enabling its acquisition. That earlier plan was defeated by conservationists, and those very forests were successfully incorporated into the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in 2019. Astonishingly, the same destructive plan is now being revived under the current government, executed through a blatant breach of the rule of law.
This planning is entirely illegal. The Sinharaja Forest Reserve was formally declared under Section 3 of the Forest Conservation Ordinance via Gazette Notification No. 2150/31 on November 20, 2019. This designation encompasses 36,474.93 hectares across the districts of Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle, and Matara. Section 7(1) of the Act explicitly lists all prohibited activities within this reserved forest. These include illegal entry, felling trees, blocking waterways, land clearing, soil cutting, and crucially, the construction of roads. A conviction in a Magistrate’s Court for such offenses can result in a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to Rs. 10,000, or both. Furthermore, the court can impose additional fines commensurate with the damage inflicted upon the forest. Under Section 7(2), any person who aids or abets these prohibited acts is also considered an offender and subject to the same penalties. Forest Department officers possess the authority to arrest individuals without a warrant for these violations. Therefore, not only is the physical destruction illegal, but the very planning of it constitutes a prosecutable offense. The Forest Conservation Department holds the legal mandate to arrest Dr. Janaka Senaratne, Namal Premaratne, and the residents involved in clearing and enforce the law.
This legal protection exists for a reason. The Sinharaja Forest Reserve is controlled and preserved due to its immense ecological, biological, and climatic values. It is recognized internationally as a vital Man and Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. It is profoundly regrettable that Dr. Janaka Senaratne and Namal Premaratne, who hail from villages surrounding Sinharaja, appear to lack an understanding of this global significance.
The reserve spans an altitudinal range from 100 to 1385 meters above sea level, encompassing both lowland wet zone forests and sub montane rain forests. Approximately 80% of Sinharaja, about 29,180 hectares, is lowland rainforest. The remaining 20%, about 7,295 hectares, consists of sub montane rain forests located above 900 meters in the northeastern and eastern regions. According to the latest data, Sinharaja contains about 24% of Sri Lanka’s remaining lowland rainforests and 25% of its sub montane rainforests. Although it covers a mere 0.6% of Sri Lanka’s total land area, it provides a habitat for an estimated 40% of the country’s terrestrial animal species. It is home to 41% of Sri Lanka’s endemic animal species and 54% of its endemic plant species. Researchers have identified 38 species that are endemic solely to the Sinharaja site itself. This includes 15 flowering plants and 23 animals, among them 9 reptile species, 9 amphibian species, 3 freshwater crab species, and one species each of spider and mammal.
The biological cost of this road would be catastrophic. The nine critically endangered amphibian species endemic to Sinharaja, including the Sinharaja bush frog and the golden eyed bush frog, all reside exclusively in the sub montane forest areas targeted for this road construction. Similarly, all nine critically endangered reptile species endemic to Sinharaja, such as Eranga Viraj’s snake and the beautiful day gecko, inhabit this very small and specific area. This illegal project will directly destroy their habitats and lead to their extinction. Furthermore, road construction will expose the area to severe invasive plants like Katakalu Bovitiya, destroy terrestrial microhabitats, and increase fatalities through road accidents and habitat fragmentation due to edge effects.
This action represents a total betrayal of the National People’s Power’s own foundational principles. The massive destruction of natural resources by previous governments fueled public opposition and helped form the basis for the current government’s rise to power. In response, the NPP established an environmental covenant with the people through its Global Environmental Policy Statement, championing environmental justice, fairness, and good governance. Its policy on sensitive ecological systems explicitly vowed to confirm and protect scientifically identified sensitive zones. Moreover, the party’s presidential election manifesto, “A Rich Country, A Beautiful Life,” promised to declare sensitive ecological zones and establish new routes only to ensure the security and integration of wildlife and forest conservation zones. The current actions of Dr. Senaratne and Mr. Premaratne constitute a complete violation of these pledges, reducing the party’s policy statements to mere documents that misled the electorate.
Therefore, there is an urgent plea for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to take immediate and decisive action. He must halt this project, uphold environmental good governance and the rule of law, and protect the rights of present and future generations to Sri Lanka’s natural heritage. The fate of Sinharaja will ultimately determine whether building a rich country and a beautiful life remains a sincere commitment or is revealed to be limited to empty policy statements. The environmental integrity of the nation and the political fate of the National People’s Power hang in the balance.
