Malicious allegations laid to rest:

Kotmale project to benefit plantation community

by P.Krishnaswamy

The Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Project (UKHP) in Talawakele will be comissioned adding 150 MW power to the national grid and hence the allegations levelled against the Government by environmentalists and others have proved false and malicious, CWC President and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Muthu Sivalingam told the Sunday Observer. President Mahinda Rajapaksa took the bold decision, when he took office in 2005 and went ahead with the project in the national interest amidst months-long protest demonstrations, boycotts and campaigns against the implementation of the project.

The protesters including trade union and NGO leaders said that the project would pose a threat to the security of the plantation community, the plantation industry and the environment.

However, the meticulously planned project has got off the ground smoothly proving that all these allegations were malicious, the Deputy Minister said.

The project has benefited the local plantation community in many ways which include employment opportunities, better living standards, increased economic activity, ownership of modern housing units for over 400 affected families and improved educational facilities, he said.

The so-called ‘environmental NGOs’ and trade-union-affiliated political leaders of the plantations carried out false propaganda campaigns and misguided the people with certain ulterior motives.

They alleged that the Government would deploy Army detachments in the plantations to promote settlement of outsiders to alter the demographic percentage of the plantation community. They also said that the UKHP would pose major environmental hazards, would ruin waterfalls and pose a threat to the plantation industry and the landscape.

The Government has proved all these allegations as false, Sivalingam said.