A stark warning from Sri Lanka’s top Catholic leader calls for urgent legal muscle to save Muthurajawela from silent destruction and catastrophic flooding.
Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has urged the government to immediately establish a dedicated Muthurajawela Development Authority to halt illegal construction and environmental damage in the fragile Muthurajawela wetland zone. The call was made during a high level discussion held at the Archbishop’s Office this morning, focused on safeguarding one of Sri Lanka’s most important natural ecosystems.
Senior state officials attended the meeting, including Gampaha District Coordination Committee Chairman Mahinda Jayasinghe. Addressing the gathering, the Archbishop described Muthurajawela as a vital natural buffer, warning that “Nature is one system. Therefore, if we tamper with it, the consequences can be dangerous.”
He directly linked the recent flooding of Gampaha city, which occurred twice in a short period, to the long standing and unchecked illegal reclamation of the wetland. According to the Archbishop, decades of unregulated land filling for factories and development projects have severely weakened the area’s natural water retention capacity, while even remaining sections are now being altered without proper planning.
The Cardinal also raised serious concerns about certain state institutions allegedly granting approvals “under the arm” to private individuals and organizations, accelerating environmental destruction. He stressed the need for a legally empowered authority with full control over land use and water transport in the wetland, ensuring that no construction or reclamation takes place without strict approval.
Providing an update, Mahinda Jayasinghe confirmed that an expert subcommittee report on Muthurajawela has been completed, with a special discussion scheduled with the Ministry of Environment on the 17th to decide future action.
