As a part of its reconstruction efforts in the Northern Province, the Government has decided to expedite the resettlement of nearly 18,000 families in the Palaly High Security Zone (HSZ)- the biggest such zone in the Jaffna peninsula.
It has also been decided to reduce the Palaly HSZ by one kilometer from its Valikamam North boundary in order to allow civilians to resettle in those areas. At present nearly 15 such HSZs cover 160 square kilometers or about 18 percent of the Jaffna peninsula. Nearly 18,000 families will be allowed to return to their lands out of which nearly 8,000 are said to be living in Colombo or overseas. Furthermore the government hopes to increase the paddy harvest from the current 130,00 to 240,000 metric tons with the completion of de-mining in the area.