The Hon. Eranga Gunasekara - Deputy Minister of Urban Development

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I address both sets of Heads—Transport/Highways/Ports/Civil Aviation and Urban Development/Construction/Housing. We welcome constructive Opposition inputs. Yes, many kilometers of roads were built within nine years; but we are also examining how much was spent beyond necessity—that is where we differ.

¶ 02 On Urban Development: five institutions fall under our purview; time won’t permit covering all. Successive governments have spent heavily, but we are in a challenging period and must extract maximum returns. Urban development must be integrated: planned housing and infrastructure, physical planning, flood control, wetland management, land development, population management, upgraded mobility, land and housing regularization, environmental protection, and control of unauthorized constructions. Only then can any government deliver meaningful urban outcomes.

¶ 03 Past approaches were not ideal. As Hon. Mano Ganesan noted, we cannot develop cities merely to achieve political aims or displace communities. We must make decisions considering the economic, social, cultural, and environmental contexts of residents. Despite many physical works, today’s urban citizens still face unresolved issues—in part because foundational factors were overlooked. Otherwise, you can get limited economic results while creating social “hells.”

¶ 04 Numerous low-income housing schemes were built. People wanted apartments, but many were effectively herded and “garrisoned,” resulting in tragedies. We must learn and manage differently: address air, water, and noise pollution; solid waste and wastewater; reservoir and wetland conservation; and create urban parks for mental and physical well-being. I thank former Minister Hon. Anura Karunathilaka and our current team for preparing improved plans over the past year; we are now moving swiftly to implementation.

¶ 05 On existing low-income apartment schemes—over 24 in number—many have deteriorated and are controlled by drug networks. Lifts are broken or vandalized; waste systems are inadequate; the social stigma is such that residents are ashamed to admit their address. For instance, in Dematagoda’s “Methsara Uyana,” while nearby premium apartments are well-maintained, the adjacent low-income blocks suffer because people were merely relocated there without social management. We must address the entire system, not only fix lifts.

¶ 06 We will phase interventions next year: establish resident-governed committees to ensure ownership, security, and responsibility; combine UDA’s own earnings with budget funds to upgrade facilities. We cannot transform all 24 schemes in one year, but we plan to commence with four in 2026 and scale thereafter.

¶ 07 On broader resettlement: over 50,000 families require proper housing/regularization; we have already settled 14,714+. Over the next two years, we target constructing over 7,000 houses, with at least 2,000 in the coming year, and will proceed methodically.

¶ 08 City branding: we have allocated over Rs. 1,300 million this year, tied to tourism, focusing initially on Kataragama, Anuradhapura, Kandy, and Colombo Fort. Works are advanced and will continue next year.

¶ 09 Urban planning: UDA has prepared and gazetted plans for a set of towns; we will continue to expand coverage across both urban and rural localities during the coming year.