By
Charumini de Silva
The government has restricted four new investment projects in the Jaffna peninsula, claiming that the projects would lead to a shortage of water, sources said.
Speaking to Ceylon FT the source said that with the support of Jaffna’s business chamber, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Yalpanam, a few industrialists finalized plans to set up four new water based projects namely, a fruit juice plant, a soft drink plant, a mineral water and a bottled water plant in the Jaffna peninsula.
However, when the applications for the approval of the projects were submitted, the Central Environment Authority (CEA) after an initial environmental examination (IEE), had turned down the proposals claiming that the development of the projects would lead to a shortage of water in the Jaffna peninsula.
The investors totally reject the decision of the local environmental authority as baseless and unreasonable.
“There are around 32 hotels in Jaffna at present, each with a capacity of around 70-80 rooms, and those hotels need at least 150,000 litres of water per day to do the essential work. The industrial plants on the other hand require only 15,000 litres of water per day for their production line and the projects are to generate new job opportunities for the unemployed youth in the Jaffna peninsula,” the source said.
In addition, it would have added more value to the Northern Province and encouraged other entrepreneurs in the peninsula to commence their normal livelihood.
The source said that the investors had appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Yalpanam, and that the President had forwarded the appeal to the CEA for consideration. When inquiries were made at the local environmental authority office, the officials had maintained their earlier stance that the proposals would lead to a severe scarcity of water in the peninsula and that the proposals cannot be approved.
The source also said that the investors had lost the grant they received from USAID for the four projects due to the delay in approving the projects.
“We have now lost all our hopes and it is utterly disappointing. We worked hard to get these projects done, but it seems that the government not treating all entrepreneurs equally and is not in favour of new businesses that would add value to the economy being established,” the source claimed.
COURTESY:CEYLON TODAY