The Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity in the Debate on allocations for the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government.

¶ 02 This Ministry powers the State machinery. After independence, powers were centralised; despite constitutional reforms towards devolution in a multi-ethnic, multilingual country, implementation has been weak. Unique administrative practices have been created in the North. For example, in Vavuniya North, the Mahaweli “L” Zone resettled people from different regions; a Manal Aar DSD was created, divided into six sub-areas — five under Vavuniya North PS and one under Karai Thurippattu PS. Administratively, Manal Aar DSD is attached to Mullaitivu, but five of its six areas vote in Vavuniya; only one votes in Mullaitivu. This bizarre arrangement should be corrected.

¶ 03 Politicians may play games, but the victims are those Sinhala people resettled there as well — services do not reach them properly. Please establish a dedicated Pradeshiya Sabha for the Manal Aar area so services can be delivered efficiently, rather than using them as pawns in political schemes. Many promises — housing, land — were made; yet even after 40 years of the Mahaweli L scheme, not a drop of Mahaweli water has reached there. When livelihoods are needed, ancestral Tamil paddy lands and tanks are being taken to benefit the new settlers. A prime example is the claim over the Triwaitku Lake and surrounding fields.

¶ 04 Please appoint an inter-ethnic committee to study and resolve these issues to prevent ethnic tensions. The Kivul Oya project, with Rs. 2,500 million allocated, will traverse ancestral Tamil lands in Vavuniya North and submerge over 10 tanks and paddy fields, while beneficiaries will mostly be the resettled communities. Ensure equitable benefits and protect ancestral lands.

¶ 05 In the North, some Pradeshiya Sabhas cover more than one DSD. For example, Puthukudiyiruppu PS covers the Oddusuddan and Puthukudiyiruppu DSDs. This vast, low-revenue PS cannot fully serve its people. Please create separate PSs for each DSD so services can reach people better.

¶ 06 A key issue in PSs is inadequate revenue due to the absence of proper assessments and tax administration, largely because of staff shortages. Please appoint necessary officers and institute proper assessment and revenue collection systems.

¶ 07 We also need heavy machinery for PSs in war-affected, resettlement areas to function effectively. Rs. 10 billion is allocated for Provincial Council elections; please implement the constitutional provisions on Provincial Councils in full to strengthen democracy.