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

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, while the river belongs to the Department of Irrigation, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board took the lead in obtaining approval and implementing construction of this salinity barrier; the Department of Irrigation granted approval for construction. On observation, there appears to be a problem causing hardship to the people in the area, evidently with technical errors. Hence, a technical evaluation report is sought, but the process is taking time and dragging. I propose that we urgently convene the Minister, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, and the Department of Irrigation together to identify immediate options and swift actions. We will intervene through the Department of Irrigation, but leadership should be with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board. We will discuss this with the Hon. Minister.