The Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the time during this debate by the Opposition on human rights. We were elected with strong mandates from the North, East and Hill Country. That mandate reflects people’s thirst for reconciliation. As a Government, we are bound to advance reconciliation. In this period, we have not acted to break reconciliation nor to violate human rights of any group — women or children. If any incidents occurred, they were not planned or intentional by the Government; they are anomalies within processes.

¶ 02 A Member asked why we do not speak of the Muslim community; as a Government, we act for the rights and needs of all communities and regions. Through the Department of Irrigation we launched the “Chari Mahima” programme in Ampara’s Sainthamaruthu, Batticaloa, and Kilinochchi as well as elsewhere.

¶ 03 Land is a sensitive issue and often politicized. As the subject Minister, I visited Vavuniya, met the District Secretary, Divisional Secretaries, officials and farmer organizations, listened and took steps. I did the same in Mullaitivu and Mannar. We are attentive nationwide, including the East. Our mandate is to foster reconciliation through development. We bring development together with reconciliation — that is our vision and the people’s aspiration.

¶ 04 We created the “Himakama” programme to provide land titles and permits. We launched it at Palai Maha Vidyalaya in the Palai DS division of Kilinochchi, to signal our sensitivity to northern and eastern land issues and our resolve to solve them — prioritizing ordinary people’s problems, not politicians’ or officials’ land issues. I met an elderly mother in Kilinochchi crying: she had a paper permit from 20 years ago, yet the land had been transferred to someone else. Many ordinary people have lived and cultivated all their lives without receiving ownership. Their suspicion is understandable, but please do not inflame it for other agendas; they desire reconciliation and we are sensitive to that.

¶ 05 In Mannar, we identified 700 LRC lands to issue titles — to be done in coming months. We are discussing with the Environment Ministry to release gazetted forest lands that are actually farmlands back to farmers. Beyond that, we are advancing development with reconciliation. In Anuradhapura we are building the Pahala Malwathu Oya reservoir, which will enable cultivation in Mannar: now 40,000 acres in Maha and only 10,000 in Yala are cultivated; 30,000 acres lie fallow in Yala. With water, Yala cultivation of 30,000 acres will proceed, doubling paddy production in Mannar. Mannar’s drinking water depends on wells that run dry seasonally; this project will also help resolve drinking water issues.

¶ 06 In Batticaloa, at MPs’ request and with the President’s agreement, we have decided to commence the Mundeni Aru project for irrigation, flood control and drinking water. We do not work with partiality; our policy is not discrimination but development that brings reconciliation, across all ministries. We will safeguard rights and advance reconciliation. Thank you.