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Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has said that the plans are afoot to set up a new Army colony in Jaffna peninsula.

The official told the Sunday Sinhala newspaper, The Divaina that only three camps would be kept in the peninsula and the rest of the camps would be withdrawn. The withdrawn camps are to be relocated in the Army colony.

The lands where the camps are presently established would be returned to the legal owners, the Army Commander said.

The new Army colony will be established in the Palaly area where the defense forces headquarters and the airport is situated. The Kankasanthurai naval harbor will also be established in the colony.

The government has decided to acquire 6,381 hectares of the land in Jaffna that is now being used as High Security Zones permanently and to pay compensation to the owners of the land. The government has allocated Rs. 400 million to pay the land owners.

According to the government, the lands in the High Security Zones of Weligamam North in the Palaly and Kankasanthurai (KKS) areas are to be acquired for the expansion of the Palaly airport and the KKS harbor.

The Army Commander further said that the maintenance of law and order in relation to civil administration of the areas released for civilian activity would be the sole responsibility of the police.