The Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to outline the Irrigation Department’s preparedness and approach to flood control. Due to climate variability, we suffered crop losses four times since last November from excessive rains. Either there is too little or too much water; communities are repeatedly inundated.

¶ 02 Data show 24 rivers and streams with flood-prone basins. Effective control requires: accurate meteorological forecasts (quantity, location, timing)—currently a gap given limited capability; robust early warning systems; and infrastructure guided by data—diversions, reservoirs, and flood-management works. The Mahaweli basin has fewer flood incidents relative to others because a dedicated Mahaweli Authority manages storage and releases. In contrast, for Kelani, responsibilities are fragmented across many entities with no single accountable authority.

¶ 03 Over decades, many studies—by foreign and local experts—have been done, projects attempted with both foreign aid and domestic funds. Yet coordination has been lacking. Currently, under World Bank support, the CResMPA project is studying 22 of 24 high-risk basins. For Kelani, plans include 8-Oya reservoir and other works. The core problem remains fragmentation.

¶ 04 We need a unified mechanism—bringing together provincial, Irrigation, UDA, District and Divisional Secretariats—under a single coordinated plan, pooling knowledge, technology, funds, and procedures. If we establish that, we can meet this challenge. Thank you.