{"id":200595,"date":"2019-04-15T13:10:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T07:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=200595"},"modified":"2019-04-16T14:54:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T09:24:49","slug":"sirisenas-governor-maithri-gunaratne-blatantly-violates-environmental-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sirisenas-governor-maithri-gunaratne-blatantly-violates-environmental-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Sirisena&#8217;s Governor Maithri Gunaratne Blatantly Violates Environmental Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Central Province Governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Maithri+Gunaratne\"><strong>Maithri Gunaratne<\/strong><\/a>, a close ally of President Maithripala Sirisena, has flouted environmental laws while reconstructing a house in the Kathaluwa area, in the Matara district.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Governor-Maithri-Gunaratne.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-200596 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Governor-Maithri-Gunaratne.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"893\" height=\"670\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Governor-Maithri-Gunaratne.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Governor-Maithri-Gunaratne-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Governor-Maithri-Gunaratne-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px\" \/><\/a>Informed sources told Colombo Telegraph that Gunaratne has obtained permission from the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD) to renovate an old house located within 5 meters from the permanent vegetation line.<\/p>\n<p>The government has strictly prohibited new constructions close to the permanent vegetation line as a protective measure. The CCD, an institution coming under the purview of President Sirisena, is entrusted with the task of enforcing the law and taking action against those violating it.<\/p>\n<p>However, several photographs exclusively obtained by Colombo Telegraph show that the Central Province Governor is in fact reconstructing a house in violation of environmental laws governing the coastal line.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is a clear distinction between renovation and reconstruction. While there is no legal impediment to renovate an house, it is strictly illegal to carry out a reconstruction within five meters from the permanent vegetation line,&#8221; a source familiar with the matter told Colombo Telegraph, adding that the Governor has hoodwinked the environmental authorities when he obtained permission to &#8216;renovate&#8217; an old house.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is up to the President, as the Environmental Minister, and the CCD to initiate action against the Central Province Governor who blatantly flouted environmental laws,&#8221; the source further added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":200598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - 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