Hon. Anura Karunathilaka - Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing
The Minister responded to questions on alternative land and support measures related to an affected project area in Vavuniya, stating that temporary permits have been issued, Cabinet approval obtained for grants, and work is proceeding through the Divisional Secretariat with irrigation and road works accepted by farmers. He said agreed employment for 18 affected family members at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board requires approval due to recruitment restrictions, while they will be prioritized for labour contract vacancies in the interim. He also reported that a feasibility study found surplus water from the Periyaru tank cannot technically be released to certain higher-elevation renovated tanks, but provincial-funded interconnections among other tanks and canals have enabled water supply and paddy transplantation.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the answers are as follows:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Yes. (ii) Yes. (iii) Temporary permits have been issued for the alternative lands, and Cabinet approval has been obtained to issue grants. The Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat is proceeding, and work to issue grants is underway. Irrigation facilities and access road construction/rehabilitation are also being carried out and have been accepted by farmers.
¶ 03 (iv) Agreement was reached during project implementation to offer employment to 18 affected family members at the NWSDB after project completion, and Board approval has been granted. However, recruitment can only be to the primary “PL” category. External recruitment for such grades is restricted by Management Services Circular 02/2020; approval is being sought. Pending a permanent solution, priority will be given to this group for labour contract recruitment to fill vacancies.
¶ 04 (v) A feasibility study by the Irrigation Department, under the Vavuniya District Secretary’s leadership, found that the renovated tanks of the Department of Agrarian Development lie at higher elevation than the Periyaru tank. Therefore, technically, surplus water cannot be released to those tanks. The related report has been provided to the Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat by the NWSDB. I table Annexes 01 and 02.
¶ 05 (b) Following the study, on the Irrigation Department’s proposal and using Northern Provincial Council funds, interconnections among renovated tanks and canals of the Department of Agrarian Development have been made. As a result, after providing water to three renovated tanks, paddy transplantation has taken place.
¶ 06 (c) Not applicable.
¶ 07 Placed in the Library.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 8 April 2025 ·No. 1747715041076408 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Anura Karunathilaka - Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 April 2025. No. 1747715041076408. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/15066