TNA MP urges Government to scrap proposed Mullaitivu salt project

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Dr P. Sathiyalingam has urged the Government to abandon a proposed salt production project in the Kokkilai area of Mullaitivu, warning that it could create land disputes and affect traditional fishing communities.

In a letter to Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lalkantha, the Vanni District MP called for the project to be cancelled at its proposed location and moved elsewhere.

Sathiyalingam said 13 acres of the 27-acre site identified for the project were privately owned, which could create significant complications if construction proceeded.

He also said the Kokkilai area included long-established fishing settlements and warned that the proposed salt project could disrupt the livelihoods of local fishing communities.

The MP argued that the project could also create unnecessary environmental and land-use problems and said the present site was unsuitable for such a development.

Sathiyalingam said he had previously submitted a written request to the relevant development committee calling for the project to be abandoned.

As construction has not yet begun, he urged the Government to identify an alternative site for the proposed Mullaitivu salt project.