Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam
Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam said affected persons from a project completed 13 years ago still hold only temporary permits and have been resettled in forest areas vulnerable to elephant incursions, asking whether funds will be allocated for protective measures. He also raised irrigation defects, stating that newly interconnected tanks have improperly positioned sluices that prevent water from reaching higher fields, and requested their repositioning. He further asked whether a 3 km access road, currently unusable in rainy seasons, could be rehabilitated under Budget allocations for Northern rural roads.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Minister. I must note you have been misled. The project was completed 13 years ago, yet affected persons still have only temporary permits. First, the alternative lands given are in forest interiors with elephant incursions, unlike the original lands. Will funds be allocated to provide protection against elephants?
¶ 02 Also, while three tanks were interconnected this year after 12 years, sluices are not at proper levels; fields are at higher elevation than the tanks, so proper irrigation is not possible. Sluices must be repositioned.
¶ 03 Further, the 3 km access road has not even been graveled. In rainy seasons, even tractors cannot access the fields. The Budget has large allocations for Northern rural roads. Can this 3 km stretch be rehabilitated this year so farmers can transport produce? I will ask my next question afterward.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 8 April 2025 ·No. 1747715041076408 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 April 2025. No. 1747715041076408. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/15067