{"id":245691,"date":"2026-02-04T07:29:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=245691"},"modified":"2026-02-09T02:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T20:55:09","slug":"when-a-tree-costs-the-nation-rs-900-million-lessons-from-daraluwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/when-a-tree-costs-the-nation-rs-900-million-lessons-from-daraluwa\/","title":{"rendered":"When A Tree Costs The Nation Rs. 900 Million: Lessons From Daraluwa"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Rusiripala Tennakoon<\/a>\u00a0\u2013<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Rusiripala Tennakoon<\/p><\/div>\n

Around 2021, a seemingly isolated environmental objection in Daraluwa, Gampaha, escalated into a national controversy that ultimately imposed an extraordinary financial burden on the country. At the centre of the dispute stood a single Crudia zeylanica tree located along the proposed alignment of the Central Expressway.<\/p>\n

Crudia zeylanica (\u0dc3\u0dd2\u0d82\u0dc4\u0dbd: \u0db4\u0dac\u0dd4 \u0d9a\u0dbb\u0db3), a species endemic to Sri Lanka and belonging to the Fabaceae family, had long been believed extinct until its rediscovery in 2019. Prior to that, the species had not been observed in the wild since 1911 and was known mainly through herbarium records.<\/p>\n

Objections to the tree\u2019s removal, initially raised by forest officials, rapidly intensified. Environmental activists, political actors, and religious symbolism entered the debate. Buddhist monks and local groups visited the site and ceremonially draped the tree with a saffron robe. The tree came to be portrayed as irreplaceable and on the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n

Alternative proposals\u2014including translocation and compensatory replanting\u2014were rejected, citing ecological uncertainty and lack of proven methodology. As agitation escalated, contractors withdrew and the Government opted to suspend the project rather than force a decision in an increasingly charged atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Public statements by officials and activists asserted that the area constituted a rare natural habitat and that removal would cause irreversible ecological damage. Social media amplified these claims, further entrenching positions.<\/p>\n

Subsequent technical evaluations, however, revealed a markedly different picture. Cabinet-level briefings disclosed that Crudia zeylanica was not facing imminent extinction, that multiple mature specimens existed in the surrounding area, and that propagation and replanting were viable. Wildlife authorities themselves acknowledged that removal of a single tree would not threaten the survival of the species.<\/p>\n

Following these assessments, the Cabinet of Ministers approved removal of the tree as a policy decision, enabling the resumption of highway construction. By then, however, the cost of delay had escalated dramatically. What could reportedly have been resolved at an estimated Rs. 10\u201315 million ultimately resulted in losses approaching Rs. 900 million, arising from project delays, contractual claims, and associated costs.<\/p>\n

Addressing a Cabinet briefing, the relevant Minister explained that inspections had identified over 40-year-old trees of the same species in the vicinity, along with younger specimens, and that replanting programmes\u2014including the planting of 200 trees\u2014had been initiated to mitigate environmental impact.<\/p>\n

The Daraluwa episode is therefore not merely about a tree. It is a case study in how unreviewed regulatory vetoes, exercised without proportional assessment or institutional checks, can paralyse nationally significant infrastructure projects and impose heavy costs on the public.<\/p>\n

Environmental protection is essential. But it must be evidence-based, proportionate, and institutionally balanced. Decisions of vast national consequence should not rest conclusively on a single interpretation at an operational level. They require structured appellate review, cross-agency evaluation, and time-bound decision-making.<\/p>\n

Similar patterns have emerged elsewhere. A proposed 10-MW mini-hydro power project, involving an estimated investment of approximately Rs. 4 billion, was obstructed on the grounds of potential impact on a fish species commonly known as Gal Pandiya (Garra ceylonensis). Senior officials subsequently acknowledged that the species is widely distributed in rocky up-country waterways. Nevertheless, the objection prevailed and the project stalled.<\/p>\n

Such outcomes reflect a systemic weakness\u2014not malice, but the absence of balance, accountability, and escalation mechanisms in environmental governance.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka cannot afford regulatory systems where well-intended protection, applied without proportionality or review, leads to national loss. The lesson from Daraluwa is clear: rules must serve the country\u2014not immobilise it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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