Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has instructed Ministry officials to inform the Acting IGP of the failure of some senior police officials to take action on complaints regarding environmental damage in Muthurajawela and Puttalam.

Minister Amaraweera had earlier instructed senior officials at the Bopitiya Police and the Puttalam Police Headquarters to take legal action regarding the environmental damage at Muthurajawela and the destruction of mangroves in the Puttalam District, the Ministry in a media communiqué said.

The Minister inspected the Muthurajawela landfills and after witnessing lorries carrying demolished construction debris from Colombo to be dumped in Muthurajawela, instructed a senior Bopitiya Police officer to arrest those responsible.

The Minister also instructed the Puttalam Police Headquarters Inspector to arrest those who had destroyed two acres of mangroves in the Viruttode area in Mundalama, Puttalam.

The police has failed to take action against those responsible for the environment damage weeks have passed since the incidents happened, the ministry said.

The Minister inquired about this at a discussion held at Environment Ministry yesterday and it was emphasised that no action had been taken in this regard so far. The Minister instructed officials to inform the IGP to take appropriate action regarding the failure of the relevant police officers to take action in this regard.