The Hon. Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 [9.21 p.m.]

¶ 02 Thank you for the opportunity, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 03 Regarding the water issue raised by the Hon. Member for Ampara, the Ampara District Secretary confirms that bowsers are already supplying water, and from tomorrow morning the National Water Supply and Drainage Board will provide water. Therefore, do not create an issue on that.

¶ 04 In today’s Adjournment Debate on disaster management, both positive and critical points were raised. Over the past two weeks, five districts faced severe flooding; I have noted all the positives and negatives presented.

¶ 05 Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Act was passed in 2005. Since then, though the subject moved under different ministries, a fully integrated, ground-level, efficient process with all institutions has not been properly operationalized—hence the criticisms of national disaster management.

¶ 06 We received early warnings around 4.00 p.m. on 24th November. From then, we informed all District Secretaries and the Police, and also the Tri-Forces commanders, IGP, Defence chiefs, Education Ministry Secretary, Commissioner General of Examinations, DGs of Coast Conservation and the Department of Fisheries, and other key stakeholders, and used multiple channels to alert all communities.

¶ 07 We believe some current difficulties arose because disaster management processes were not fully digitized and modernized previously. The Disaster Management Centre, National Building Research Organisation, National Disaster Relief Services Centre, all Divisional and District Secretariats and associated institutions form the operational structure. Over the past two weeks, all parties worked diligently and efficiently.

¶ 08 We deeply regret the tragic deaths of students traveling on a tractor in Sainthamaruthu. Fortunately, the 24th Division Commander was touring Ampara to inspect the flood situation and managed to rescue five students immediately; sadly, due to rough conditions, the others could not be saved at that time. The Navy, Army and Police jointly conducted rescue operations. Due to limitations, the remaining bodies were recovered the following day.

¶ 09 As a Government, we studied the disaster closely and acted proactively, following DMC policy in a strategic manner. While there is a ground plan, there are still many gaps. Under the leadership of our President, we will convene the National Council for Disaster Management to manage and strategize at the national level.

¶ 10 Preparedness is key. No single institution alone suffices; we must integrate the national-to-local mechanism with all line ministries and agencies, and plan strategically. We will review the existing national disaster management framework, propose necessary amendments, bring Cabinet memoranda and implement required actions. We are gathering capabilities of the military, police, Civil Security Department and all relevant agencies to build that mechanism and execute it properly.

¶ 11 On compensation: we discussed increasing payouts. A Cabinet paper has been submitted, under existing circulars, to raise compensation. For human–elephant conflict and crocodile attacks, Rs. 1 million will be paid per life lost. For disaster-related deaths—currently Rs. 250,000—we have already obtained Cabinet approval to increase to Rs. 1 million. For property damage, up to Rs. 2.5 million will be provided.

¶ 12 We also observed a key weakness: the absence of elected representatives in local authorities. The lack of local authority representatives hampered efficiency.