The Hon. S.M. Marikkar

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, this Supplementary Estimate allocates Rs. 250 billion for damaged infrastructure—roads, bridges, railways, irrigation, hospitals, and schools. At the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development on the 11th, we found that the national roads alone under the RDA require about Rs. 190 billion. Yet Rs. 250 billion is allocated for everything including bridges, rail, and irrigation. Provincial and local authority roads have not even been fully assessed yet. National roads under the RDA are about 12,000 km; provincial and local roads total roughly 90,000 km. So, is this allocation sufficient? Or is this just another Christmas story?

¶ 02 Next, the CEB has incurred about Rs. 20 billion in losses. Will any of this allocation go to the CEB? We also hear the CEB is looking to borrow USD 100 million and that tariffs will then be increased. Is that what is planned?

¶ 03 The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has losses of Rs. 6 billion. Are those needs detailed? Unofficially, we hear that infrastructure damage alone from this disaster is about Rs. 900 billion. Can a poor country like ours bear Rs. 900 billion alone? When Gotabaya Rajapaksa reduced VAT and gave tax relief of Rs. 880 billion, the economy collapsed. We urge the Government to properly prepare a comprehensive damage profile and present it internationally to mobilize support. If we wait for external assessments, we will face a repeat of the tsunami experience where we ended up with little. Prepare a presentation, convene a donor conference, secure maximum assistance, and seek further debt deferment. Decisions should not be pre-determined elsewhere before meetings; act transparently.

¶ 04 Hon. Deputy Speaker, in Kolonnawa, after floods receded, there are still piles of waste and silt; people cannot return home. In areas like Brandiwatte, Wennawatte, Megoda Kolonnawa, and Kittampahuwa, garbage remains uncollected. I do not know whether the PS even has a tractor at work. We hear of tractors and backhoes coming from other districts, but we do not see them here.

¶ 05 People were promised Rs. 25,000 to clean their homes. In the Kolonnawa DS Division roughly 30,000 families were affected. As of last evening, only about 9,000 families had received the Rs. 25,000. Dry rations were also promised, but from where? A Government that cannot pay Rs. 25,000 each to 30,000 families promised Rs. 50,000, Rs. 500,000, and even Rs. 1,000,000 in some cases. These are empty promises. I can show that these are false: unofficially, there are about 3,000 partially damaged houses in Kolonnawa division, each flooded 4–12 feet. Will only those 3,000 get assistance, and the remaining 27,000 get nothing?

¶ 06 In 2016, after floods, then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had an insurance-backed scheme from which we paid Rs. 10,000 to 27,000 families initially to help them return home, then Rs. 15,000 for essentials to about 23,000 families, and then Rs. 190,000 each to 19,905 families for housing support—all treated as flood-affected. We inspected every house to verify. Do not joke about people’s suffering.

¶ 07 Some officials now say they cannot bring back the insurance because premiums did not yield returns. But premiums are not “returns” unless an incident occurs. Misleading presentations have confused even the President by aggregating five years of premiums and comparing against one year of payouts.

¶ 08 During the floods, the Government’s response was lacking; only 38 boats were provided by the Government while many more came from private donors. Now, in the post-disaster phase, if you delay payments, at least clear the garbage. If you have centralized local authorities, mobilize their backhoes; deploy the Civil Security Department. Grama Niladharis know every house and resident; why chase forms to pay Rs. 25,000? The attempt to get opposition local leaders to sign forms backfired; now local councillors are distributing forms. Please, at least by this Friday, pay the Rs. 25,000. People are destitute; their income streams have vanished.

¶ 09 Many in our areas are micro-entrepreneurs—petty shop owners, three-wheeler operators, pavement vendors. Will there be compensation for their businesses? Every day of delay prevents them from restarting their livelihoods. Factories near the Kelani River have also not fully resumed; if loan moratoria are planned, grant them quickly because many people work there.

¶ 10 Please act, not merely talk. Deploy the necessary mechanisms. Hon. Deputy Speaker, kindly ensure that the Rs. 25,000 is paid by this Friday. You received 12,000 votes from Kolonnawa—more than I did. We built roads, bunds, gates, and pump houses; you received 12,000 votes without lifting a stone. Therefore, please intervene so these payments are made urgently to the people who supported you as well. I conclude with that request.