President Maithripala Sirisena this morning, upon visiting Muthurajawela to inspect the activity underway there, ordered an immediate halt to construction, landfilling and other activity leading to destruction of the Muthurajawela Sanctuary.

The President ordered that all permits given out by any government agency to fill land in the area are revoked, and instructed relevant authorities to take disciplinary action against government officers who have enabled such actions harmful to the environment.

These measures by the President follow recent media reports on the effect construction work were having on the Muthurajawela Sanctuary - an important wetland in Sri Lanka. At the conclusion of the dawn visit conducted today, President Sirisena instructed relevant officials to look into the legality of Gazetting these lands as wildlife and environmental conservation areas. .

The President said that even on land with ownership deed, permission should not be granted for constrictions or land filling, if there is an adverse effect on the environment. If there is any political influence behind such acts he would not hesitate to take immediate action them too, he said.

President Sirisena instructed the Inspector General of Police to provide special security through Special Task Force of the police and to erect barriers to the roads that leads to the wetlands in order to prevent the acts of environmental pollution taking place near the sanctuary.