Was it by accepting bribes that the Mahaweli, the Environmental and the Sustainable Energy Authorities fell victim to the forestry racket of the Hambantota Solar Power Companies?

Was it by accepting bribes that the Mahaweli, the Environmental and the Sustainable Energy Authorities fell victim to the forestry racket of the Hambantota Solar Power Companies?

Sajeewa Chamikara

Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform 

Misleading the Sustainable Energy Authority, the Mahaweli Authority and the Central Environmental Authority, seventeen (17) companies have started constructing large-scale solar power plants by illegally clearing about 1,000 acres of forests in Seenukkugala, Orukengala and Kapapuwewa areas in the Hambantota Divisional Secretary's Division, which are the main elephant habitats located on the border of the Hambantota Elephant Management Reserve. The clear evidence which establishes this fact is that approval to construct solar power plants has been given to two unregistered companies and to a number of companies of which the boards of directors are the same. It seems that all these illegal activities may have been carried out by misleading or bribing these state institutions. However, it is disappointing to note that, despite all these facts being brought to light, no state institution has taken steps to stop these illegal and harmful activities.

The 150 MW solar power plant project, which is said to be a USD150 million investment project, is being implemented by a group of companies named Hambanthota 150 MW Solar PV Project – Group of Companies. This is not a registered company. The key persons in the boards of directors of 8 of the 12 companies belonging to this group, namely Geneco (Pvt.) Ltd., Solargen (Pvt.) Ltd., Stallion Energy Solar (Pvt.) Ltd., Elephant Power International (Pvt.) Ltd., Madunagala Agrico (Pvt.) Ltd., Leisure Creation (Pvt.) Ltd., Talna Solar (Pvt.) Ltd., and Greenline Solar (Pvt.) Ltd., are Palawinnage Charana Mithsuka Kumaranatunga, Dulanga Kumaranatunga, Madusanka Purawaruna Fernando and Liu Kai, a Chinese national. The said Chinese national, who represents the boards of directors of five companies, is said to be the main investor in the entire project. Charana Kumaranatunga represents the boards of directors of seven companies, and he is also the main partner in the group of companies that implement the entire project.

For the implementation of this project by a number of companies belonging to the same group, obtaining environmental approvals, acquiring land on lease basis, and entering into agreements with the Sustainable Energy Authority and the Ceylon Electricity Board have been done as separate companies. It is in order to avoid the environmental impact assessment process and to facilitate land lease from the Mahaweli Authority that this project is being implemented in this manner under a number of companies. It seems that these companies have got the support of the state institutions for such illegal evasions and omissions.