The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Defence, the answer is as follows:

¶ 02 (a) (i) From 2019 to 23.12.2023, 3,154 families have been identified across 14 landslide risk districts. The most affected are Badulla (highest), Nuwara Eliya (second), and Kegalle (third). District-wise details are in Annex 1 (tabled). (ii) Of the 3,154 families, 264 families are in temporary housing, and of these, 128 families are staying with relatives/friends. District-wise details are in Annex 1 (tabled). (iii) The reasons are complex. Disaster management comprises risk identification (NBRO hazard mapping), mitigation, preparedness, and response, coordinated through the Disaster Management Centre with all stakeholder agencies and community organizations.

¶ 03 Reasons for non-receipt of alternative houses/lands include: - Legal: No legal provision to mandatorily evacuate residents from high-risk lands without their consent. - Socio-economic: Agriculture-based livelihoods on high-risk lands; high value of existing houses; the small size (10 perches) of offered plots; strong attachment to local subcultures; reluctance to relocate. - Programmatic: Beneficiaries struggle to choose among options (buy land with house; build on own other land; buy land and build; build on state land). Delays in selecting government/private lands. - Financial: Post-2020 pandemic and 2021 economic crisis escalated construction costs; current grants insufficient. Present grants: Rs. 400,000 for land purchase; Rs. 1.6 million for land with house; Rs. 1.2 million to build on state land. - Market/availability: High land prices and scarcity of state lands in some districts; even where state lands exist, inability to pay for acquisitions through the program. - Tenure: Families on state, unauthorized, railway reserve or other lands lack clear title, hampering inclusion. - Release delays: Delays in release of lands by institutions controlling parcels identified for resettlement.

¶ 04 (iv) We are amending the Disaster Management Act to include measures regarding persons refusing resettlement while remaining in high-risk houses, and to strengthen provisions. We are also providing allocations to develop infrastructure on state lands to make new settlements habitable; Rs. 79 million was allocated in 2024.

¶ 05 Given inadequate housing grants, we are moving a Cabinet paper to raise grants: construction grant from Rs. 1.2 million to Rs. 2.0 million and to reduce minimum floor area from 650 sq. ft. to 550 sq. ft. Pending approval, basic units (room, kitchen, toilet) are being facilitated. During heavy rainfall, as per NBRO warnings, evacuations from high-risk zones are carried out under District and Divisional Secretaries.

¶ 06 Proposals under consideration include: increasing land purchase grant from Rs. 400,000 to Rs. 500,000; land-with-house grant from Rs. 1.6 million to Rs. 2.5 million; and construction grant from Rs. 1.2 million to Rs. 2.0 million—subject to Cabinet approval.

¶ 07 (v) Policy decisions will be taken via Cabinet as required. Going forward, we will adopt sustainable, scientific approaches: a national-level structural mechanism for landslide prevention and risk reduction; strengthen early warning systems; and integrate Disaster Management Centre operations with all stakeholders in a single coordinated network. We will also act against drivers such as illegal constructions, unplanned projects, environmental degradation, hill cutting, sand filling, and excessive soil extraction along roads. High-risk zones will be prohibited for future development. Under the President’s leadership, the National Disaster Management Centre is engaged accordingly.

¶ 08 (b) Does not arise.