An organized group has been accused of land grabbing nearly 1,000 acres of the Somawathiya National Park, Island Newspaper reports.
The group is reported to have removed boundary posts put up by the Wildlife Department and placing it further inside the National Park.
The move brings the encroachment of the National Park to nearly 3,000 acres in two days.
According to The Island, environmentalists have accused Government supporters of being responsible for the land grab.
Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle of Sri Lanka, Convener, Supun Lahiru Prakash said a group led by a high-ranking official of the Medirigiriya Divisional Secretariat had entered the Park on Wednesday and had encroached on 2,000 acres of forest land in the Palliyagodella area.
Condemning this action, he called on relevant authorities to protect the Somawathiya National Park, adding that if failed to do so it will lead to the extinction of protected wildlife and further deforestation.
The Somawathiya National Park is one of the main protected areas located in the Mahaweli wildlife region and plays a key role as an important elephant home range.
Supun Lahiru Prakash said land grabbing in the National Park could also lead to an increase in the existing human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Defence Secretary retired General Kamal Gunaratne had revealed there were reports of some Divisional Secretaries issuing licences to clear forest lands.
At the time he had insisted that the practice must be stopped. (NewsWire)