The Hon. Aravinda Senarath — Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation
In reply to Question 1406/2025, the Deputy Minister stated that Vavuniya District has 833 irrigation tanks serving 41,594 acres of paddy land, of which 611 systems currently supply water to 38,750 acres. He said 222 tanks are abandoned, covering 2,844 acres, with none under the Department of Irrigation, one under the Mahaweli Authority, and 221 under the Department of Agrarian Development. Rehabilitation is to proceed through the Kivul Oya Project for the Mahaweli tank and through the Department of Agrarian Development’s 2026 action plan, which allocates Rs. 125 million for selected minor tanks in 13 districts. He added that land allocation under Kivul Oya will take place after construction and development are completed, with no date yet specified.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, in reply to Question 1406/2025:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Under the Department of Irrigation in the Mannar Region, Vavuniya District has 1 major tank and 4 medium tanks. Under the Mahaweli Authority (Weherathenna unit of Mahaweli “L” area within Vavuniya), 5 tanks are registered. Under the Department of Agrarian Development, 823 minor (irrigation) tanks are registered. Total tanks: 833.
¶ 03 (ii) Extent of paddy lands under those tanks: - Department of Irrigation: 4,134 acres (major) and 2,194 acres (medium) - Mahaweli Authority: 460 acres - Department of Agrarian Development: 34,806 acres Total: 41,594 acres.
¶ 04 (iii) Tanks currently supplying water for cultivation: - All major and medium tanks under the Department of Irrigation - 4 tanks under the Mahaweli Authority - 602 tanks under the Department of Agrarian Development Total systems supplying water: 611.
¶ 05 (iv) Extent currently irrigated: - Department of Irrigation: 6,328 acres (under major/medium systems); additionally, approximately 600 acres under the Kal Aru anicut (also managed by the Department of Irrigation) - Mahaweli Authority: 335 acres - Department of Agrarian Development: 32,087 acres Total irrigated extent: 38,750 acres.
¶ 06 (v) Abandoned tanks: - Department of Irrigation: none - Mahaweli Authority: 1 - Department of Agrarian Development: 221 Total abandoned: 222.
¶ 07 (vi) Extent of paddy lands under abandoned tanks: - Mahaweli Authority: 125 acres - Department of Agrarian Development: 2,719 acres Total: 2,844 acres.
¶ 08 (b) (i) Department of Irrigation: no abandoned tanks under its maintenance. Rehabilitation of abandoned tanks under the Mahaweli Authority is undertaken through the Kivul Oya Project. The Department of Agrarian Development has included rehabilitation of abandoned minor tanks in its 2026 action plan, allocating Rs. 125 million across selected tanks in 13 districts, identified per department guidelines.
¶ 09 (ii) Under the Mahaweli Authority, paddy lands can be allocated to people. Under Kivul Oya, land distribution will occur after completion of construction and development; a date cannot be specified now.
¶ 10 (iii) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 4 March 2026 ·No. 23360 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Aravinda Senarath — Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 4 March 2026. No. 23360. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/13375