The Hon. Waruna Liyanage

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Bill to establish the National Building Research Institute. During the previous administration, we repeatedly proposed this at ministerial advisory committees. I thank the Hon. Prime Minister, also Minister for Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training at the time, for recognizing the timeliness of bringing this Bill.

¶ 02 NBRO was established in 1984 under the late Hon. Ranasinghe Premadasa’s housing programme, to support construction quality.

¶ 03 I also wish to clarify that during the tenure of the present Leader of the Opposition, this institution was under the Ministry of Technology and Research, not the Ministry of Housing and Construction—hence he was not directly responsible for establishing this legal framework then.

¶ 04 Disaster management is critical for Ratnapura District. After Badulla, Ratnapura and then Kegalle see the most landslides. We recall the tragic Aranayake—Samasara Kanda—event in Kegalle where about 125 lives were lost and two villages destroyed. In 2003 at Palawela in my Ratnapura District (Nivithigala), 67 people died; in the 2017 floods, around 100 died across Ratnapura, including 26 in Kiribathgala. If establishing NBRI can prevent such tragedies, that is our duty.

¶ 05 Clause 6(1) of the Bill provides that the Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management be the Chair—this is appropriate. Representatives of Finance, Provincial Councils, and the Director‑General of the Disaster Management Centre are members, along with three others.

¶ 06 I suggest adding a nominee recommended by the Secretary of the Ministry in charge of Plantation Industries, because 14 frequently disaster‑affected districts (as per Circular 2011/01) are largely plantation‑related.

¶ 07 On powers: entering lands for urgent inspections currently requires a police officer to accompany NBRI officers. Given police resource constraints, this can delay urgent work. Other agencies (e.g., National Gem and Jewellery Authority) have entry powers. Granting NBRI officers similar lawful entry authority would be beneficial.

¶ 08 Local authorities should also be oriented. New Pradeshiya Sabha chairmen have been appointed in these districts. Through workshops, they should be instructed on legal cut limits, as over‑cutting retaining walls below upslope houses causes serious injustice. NBRI needs sufficient authority to act; otherwise objectives will not be met. Thank you.