Palaly is in a High Security Zone declared by the
Sri Lanka Armed Forces of an area of less than 25 square kilometers due to the
civil war. The former residents of the area have been evacuated; although it was initially claimed that this was due to security reasons subsequent research by a number of non governmental organisations has cast doubt on this claim. Limited resettlement began in 2002 but was not completed. In 2013 the Government of Sri Lanka attempted to put their claim to this land on a legal footing by claiming that the land was needed for a "public purpose" and that the previous inhabitants of the land could not be found. 2176 previous inhabitants of the land came forward to challenge this ruling in court, the case is ongoing. The
Palaly Military Base houses the
Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna and is near the naval base; SLNS Uttara at
Kankasanturai and air base;
Jaffna Airport. There is also a
military hospital in Palaly. ==Palaly Air Base==