Plans underway to levy hefty annual fines on illegal coastal constructions

August 2, 2025 08:17 am

The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management has announced plans to introduce new legislation that would impose annual fines on unauthorized structures built in coastal areas across Sri Lanka.

According to the Department’s Director General, Professor Terney Pradeep Kumara, more than 2,500 such unauthorized constructions have been identified island wide.

“Over the past 10 to 15 years, a significant number of unauthorized structures have been erected within designated coastal zones,” he stated.

“We are in the process of demolishing some of these buildings, while others will be subject to hefty annual fines. Legal measures are being taken to address and regularize these irregularities,” he added.

Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.