Sri Lanka, Oct. 14 -- A Fundamental Rights Petition has been lodged before the Supreme Court challenging the proposed heavy mineral sand extraction project on Mannar Island, raising serious environmental and Legal concerns over the exploitation of the region's fragile coastal ecosystem.

The petition has been filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), Rev. Fr. Santhiyogu Marcus, and 3 other Petitioners. They are seeking an Interim Order suspending the Terms of Reference (TOR) and license issued for the proposed mining operations in the Mannar area.

When the case was mentioned before a 2-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Sampath Abayakoon, the Court fixed the matter for support on February ...