The coverage of HSZ has been reduced
and people from Navaretnapuram (139 Families) & Koonitheevu (170 Families)
are allowed resettle in original villages.
Koonitheevu
(170F) families have been allowed to go and clear their lands, but they have
received no support to resettle. ZOA has identified up to 130
families in urgent need of shelter and latrine support (as well as
livelihoods). Apparently they will receive some tin sheeting and 4 bags of
cement from the government and OFFER a local NGO – but have not received
to-date. The area has
difficult access to basic services - the nearest hospital is reportedly 9 km
away.
Navaretnapuram
(139F) provided basic assistance to resettle (temporary shelter assistance and
some livelihood support from EHED) but they still need lot of basic facilities.
The Government
has reportedly conducted a latrine assessment and submitted the assessment to
the Ministry of Resettlement.
Families from 4 GN divisions =
Sampoor West (448F), Sampoor East (355F), Kadatkaraichchenai (113F), Sambookalli (?) are
still not able to resettle in their original places. The Government is
proposing relocations in Koonitheevu and Navaretnapuram for 483 Families from
these remaining 916 (283F + 168F + 32F respectively). Other locations have been
suggested by GoSL for the remainder. On a more positive note, there have also been reports that plans are being made
to return a further 400 to 500 families to parts of Sampoor East and West,
Sambookalli, and Kooneetheevu North, but this is not yet confirmed.There
are still 3 IDP camps functioning in Muthur division; Kiliveddi,
Manachchenai and Paddiyadithidal camp.
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The local
authorities have requested assistance for these returning families.
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It is still of
concern that close to 1000 families are still living in displacement and are
not be able to return to their places of origin. Hopefully, if we are able to
show support for the returns of families to Koonitheevu and Navaretnapuram we
can also encourage the Government to open up more areas for returns.
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In terms of
relocations, we still need to be careful that these relocations are voluntary
and that families are fully informed of their right to return should their land
open up in the future and/or the procedures for acquiring their land and
compensating them for the loss. If this land is to be acquired for development
purposes we would strongly recommend that the Sri Lankan National
Involuntary Resettlement Policy (NIRP – see attached) is applied in this
instance. It is recommended that assistance is provided to support the
Government to follow the NIRP which includes the development of a comprehensive
resettlement plan with participation from the affected populations prior to
relocation as well as a compensation package.