This rumour started once Awantha Artigala published a cartoon with the caption "An attempt by the Ministry of Tourism Development and Wildlife to release eight acres of land in Palatupana adjoining the Yala National Park to a private party, under a 50-year lease to build a holiday resort has been revealed by the Young Zoologists’ Association (YZA)". Find the cartoon here: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=414471640025700&set=a.207352560737610. However, this caption is the opening sentence of an article published in September 2019: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/09/01/news/zoologists-blow-whistle-illegal-hotel-construction. As per that article, the Cabinet Memorandum on the subject had been released by the Ministry of Tourism Development and Wildlife on 30th July 2019. This article too covers the same issue: https://www.themorning.lk/controversy-surrounds-yala-resort-approval/. Recent news reports on the same cannot be found online, and upon inquiry Awantha Artigala's Facebook page also confirmed that the above two articles were the sources for the cartoon. No way to verify whether the construction of the holiday resort actually happened.