The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees, on this Supplementary Estimate: the Hon. Minister regrettably said SLTB and Railways cannot be revived. While we acknowledge the challenge, as Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna said, the Government must still take responsibility for not restoring rail services.

¶ 02 The Minister said some officials refuse to work. At Ridithenna SLTB depot near Polonnaruwa in Batticaloa District, operations were profitable, especially Ridithenna–Colombo. Yet the depot was closed and buses moved to Valachchenai. When we raised this at the DCC with Hon. Hisbullah and others, including our Chief Government Whip Hon. Susil Premajayantha, and Valachchenai administrators, it was rejected. How then do we uplift the CTB service?

¶ 03 On roads: in my district, several iRoad segments are in disrepair. The Peradeniya–Galaha–Deltota road under iRoad is completely dilapidated from Galaha to Deltota. The Pilimathalawa–Muruthalawa–Aladeniya road is in poor condition, and the Wattade­ niya–Gampola road is also damaged. The 5502–0593 route too is in bad condition. Please direct the RDA and Provincial Road Development Authority to attend to these.

¶ 04 On the reallocations: large sums are being taken from the Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal Development Project, from the iRoad Project, and Rs. 8,000 million from the Getambe flyover project. The Getambe area faces heavy congestion, with only poles erected so far and a railway crossing compounding delays along William Gopallawa Mawatha. If foreign loan funds are not available, at least use domestic funds to resolve this urgently.

¶ 05 The Kandy Multimodal Project includes three bus terminals: at Getambe, Katugastota, and Pallekele. Without progress on these terminals, the multimodal hub will fail. We need clarity on timelines.

¶ 06 On the Central Expressway: we expect it to reach Galagedara. From Pothuhera to Rambukkana, local packages are progressing; from Rambukkana to Galagedara, nothing has moved. I raised this at the Committee on Public Finance; no decision yet. The Deputy Minister in an interview said they are keen to proceed; we need urgent action. From Galagedara to Kandy, a full expressway may be too costly, but the existing road must be widened—two or three lanes—so the entire corridor is viable and travel times fall.

¶ 07 Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva also mentioned pending issues after negotiations with the Central Expressway contractor. The Report of the Committee to Analyse the Claims to be Paid to the Contractor and the Adverse Impact on the Government of Sri Lanka – Central Expressway Section 1 records, I quote briefly:

¶ 08 “Whether the Contractor claims interest for the delayed period… The Contractor replied that the Company is not in a position to determine it at this juncture and their decision will be informed after the re-commencement of the Project.”

¶ 09 “Whether the Contractor claims damages for the period the project was delayed… The Contractor replied that the Company is not in a position to determine it at this juncture and their decision will be informed after the re-commencement of the Project.”

¶ 10 Without finalizing these, you are taking the loan and awarding the contract. We accept that not awarding may cause other problems, but these pending matters should be settled properly before approving the loan. That is our request. Thank you.