The Hon. (Dr.) V.S. Radhakrishnan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I thank Hon. Hesha Withanage for bringing this Private Member’s Motion for the Government to take over estate roads.

¶ 02 In Sri Lanka there are many categories of roads: RDA roads, PRDA roads, State roads, Pradeshiya Sabha roads, Urban Council roads, Municipal Council roads. But for estate roads, ownership is unclear; authorities pass the buck saying it is not theirs. In the past, governments gave only limited funds — perhaps for Hon. Thondaman or Hon. Digambaram — but giving, say, only Rs. 100 million to develop all estate roads nationwide is impossible. We do not blame the NPP Government; this is your first time in office. Please make arrangements to do this good work in your tenure.

¶ 03 Hon. Minister Sanath Vidyaratne and Hon. Deputy Minister S. Pradeep Sundaralingam are here, holding the plantation industry and community infrastructure portfolios. I kindly request you both to take responsibility and deliver. We acknowledge we did not do enough; that is why we ask you to act.

¶ 04 Hon. Hesha said some Ratnapura schools lack A/L. I believe St. John’s Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, Ratnapura Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, Kanaganayagam Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, and St. Mary’s Tamil Vidyalayam, Yatiyantota, have Advanced Level. I request the Hon. Prime Minister to take steps to develop schools likewise.

¶ 05 You now have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and executive powers. Please obtain foreign assistance if needed and develop those roads. Thank you.