Wattamadu: A Grassland in Conflict
Photo courtesy of Conservation Mag
Another round of talks on the Wattamadu grassland issue has ended without a solution. The final round of discussions between the dairy farmers who claim the grassland and the paddy farmers who seek to cultivate 300 acres during the maha season was chaired by National List MP Abubakar Adambawa.
Following the meeting, a letter issued by Ampara District Secretary Chinthaka Abeywickrama stated that in accordance with the 2024 Cabinet Memorandum on resolving land issues through sustainable forest management, the Inter-Ministerial Committee has approved the release of the 200.5 hectare land block known as old Wattamadu, which includes the disputed 300 acres, to the Land Commissioner.
Although the government has supported the request of the paddy farmers, the dairy farmers have not agreed to the decision. They argue that a case concerning the Wattamadu grassland is currently before the Court of Appeal with the next hearing scheduled for December.
The history of the Wattamadu grassland stretches back decades but the struggle of the dairy farmers began soon after the end of the war.
Wattamadu, a pasture land used by dairy farmers in the Thirukkovil Divisional Secretariat Division of Digamadulu District, was first surveyed and demarcated by the Survey Department on November 19, 1972.
As the initial administrative step, District Government Agent D. Wijesinghe formally declared Wattamadu as a designated pasture land on August 27, 1974. The declaration, based on survey boundaries, maps and written orders, identified a total area of 3,850 acres.
In 1975, following the completion of all survey activities, Wattamadu grassland was declared once again, this time with a revised extent of 4,741 acres and 2 roods.
A year later, President William Gopallawa issued a gazette notification formally declaring 4,000 acres of the Wattamadu grassland as state-designated pasture land. Through this gazette, 741 acres and 2 roods from the previously surveyed 4,741 acres and 2 roods were released for use by farmers.
Despite being surveyed, demarcated and gazetted, the land was never officially handed over to the Ministry of Livestock.
With the eruption of war in the 1980s, Wattamadu came under the control of the LTTE. Security restrictions during this period prevented dairy farmers from accessing the pasturelands.
Before the conflict, Wattamadu was a vital grazing ground for dairy farmers in the area. An estimated 30,000 cattle were brought to the grasslands every three months, travelling from Periyaneelavanai to Thirukkovil – a longstanding rhythm of pastoral life.
However, in recent decades, tensions have grown. While dairy farmers remain restricted from utilising Wattamadu, the District Secretary has granted permission to paddy farmers to cultivate 300 acres of the pastureland. Most of these paddy farmers are unauthorised cultivators without formal permits. In response, on March 17, 2005 the District Secretary issued a directive allowing them to cultivate for only one season, after which they were instructed to halt cultivation until a sustainable, long term solution could be reached.
Illegal cultivators
When the war in the East ended, the dairy farmers who returned to the Wattamadu grasslands to release their cattle were met not with the familiar expanse of pastureland but with a landscape stripped bare, with destroyed forests, flattened grasslands and bulldozed earth.
According to S. Pushparaja, Chairman of the Wattamadu Dairy Farmers’ Association, large groups backed by district level politicians allied to the Rajapaksa government including Rauff Hakeem and A.L.M. Athaullah had forcibly occupied the land in 2009 and begun cultivating paddy illegally. This became the starting point of what has now become a 14 year struggle by dairy farmers to reclaim the Wattamadu grasslands and stop systematic deforestation.
“The Wattamadu grasslands were bulldozed and the deforestation was carried out using the political power of the government. Because of that power, the Forest Conservation Department did nothing. We lodged complaints. Later, in 2011, we filed a lawsuit. Only then were we able to stop the destruction,” Pushparaja recalled.
Despite repeated threats to his life, particularly during his tenure as a member of the Eastern Provincial Council, Pushparaja and the dairy farmers continued their resistance. Their campaign has been notable not only for its persistence but for its cross-community solidarity, drawing support from Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim residents alike.
Deforestation of Bakmitiyawa–Thimbirigolla Forest Reserve
On January 1, 2010 the government issued an extraordinary gazette notification declaring the Bakmitiyawa–Thimbirigolla Forest Reserve, which includes the Wattamadu grassland, as a protected forest area.
In response, the Wattamadu Dairy Farmers’ Association filed Fundamental Rights petition seeking legal protection for the forest reserve and requesting the right to graze cattle in the portion of the Wattamadu grassland historically allocated for dairy farming. More than a decade later, the case remains pending in the Court of Appeal.
While the petition was still being heard, tensions escalated. Over 31 illegal cultivators, empowered by political patronage, were found forcibly clearing and destroying another 1,500 acres of the Bakmitiyawa–Thimbirigolla reserve. Following a complaint lodged by dairy farmers, the Thirukkovil police intervened and arrested them.
In 2013, the Forest Department officially prohibited unauthorised cultivators from entering any part of the Bakmitiyawa–Thimbirigolla reserve, including the Wattamadu grasslands, an attempt to curb further encroachment and deforestation.
For their part, the paddy farmers argue that their families have cultivated paddy in the Wattamadu area since 1968 and that those with long standing cultivation histories were issued land permits in 1985. This historical claim continues to fuel competing narratives over land rights, identity and livelihood in the region.
Fake permit of lands
The Dairy Farmers’ Association firmly disputes the legitimacy of the land licenses claimed by the paddy cultivators. “As requested by the court, the Assistant Land Commissioner of the Ampara reviewed 525 copies of these so-called licenses. But not a single official copy exists in either the Thirukkovil Divisional Secretariat or the Land Commissioner’s Office,” says Pushparaja.
The association also raises concerns about the way various sections of the cultivated land have been renamed. The dairy farmers argue that these areas fall within Wattamadu, accusing cultivators of using new place names to legitimise encroachment.
In 2014, the dairy farmers filed a petition in the High Court, Kalmunai to remove unauthorised cultivators from the grassland. The judgment that followed largely favoured the dairy farmers. When the paddy farmers appealed the decision in December 2015 the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court ruling, requiring the appellants to bear court costs.
This outcome strengthened the dairy farmers’ legal standing yet the conflict over Wattamadu continues, shaped by competing histories, political influence and unresolved land governance.
When the dairy farmers’ petition was taken up before the Court of Appeal in September 2015, the Thirukkovil Divisional Secretary informed the judges that measures would be initiated to remove the unauthorised cultivators from the Wattamadu grassland.
Elephant corridor
A total of 269 dairy farmers have mobilised to protect their 4,000 acre Wattamadu grassland. Together, they produce approximately 2,000 litres of milk daily.
“This is the only grassland for cows and buffaloes. It is unsuitable for cultivation because for a period it serves as an elephant corridor. Four of our dairy farmers have been killed by elephants. Every time cultivation starts here, the elephant problem arises. The authorities need to address this,” says Pushparaja.
The 4,000 acres of Wattamadu grassland is a heritage of the dairy farmers, making its protection a government responsibility. Pushparaja points out that paddy is cultivated on approximately 155,000 hectares across the district.
Dairy farmers are also urging the government to redistribute the lands currently occupied by paddy farmers after measuring and marking the boundaries of the 4,000 acre Wattamadu grassland to unemployed Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim youth.
