The Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, within my time I will address education, agriculture, fisheries, housing, tourism, rural development, and sports as they pertain to the 2026 Budget.

¶ 02 Education: UNESCO recommends 4–6 per cent of GDP or 15–20 per cent of public expenditure for education. This Budget does not meet that target. Moreover, 77 per cent of the education allocation is for recurrent expenditure, which is not ideal; capital spending must increase. The Rs. 1,500 million for university hostels, named for Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Vavuniya, is welcome to mitigate access issues for students from remote areas, but there is no dedicated funding to improve academic quality, research, or industry-linked curricula. There is no mention of building niche programmes such as marine sciences in Trincomalee or agricultural technology in Kilinochchi.

¶ 03 Technical and vocational education: while TVET is noted, there is no specific plan to align centres in the North and East with local economic opportunities like agriculture, fisheries, and tourism.

¶ 04 Irrigation: Rs. 1,000 million is proposed to modernize major irrigation, targeting the dry zone which covers much of the North and East. However, while new schemes are mentioned, there is no allocation to restore thousands of ancient village tanks abandoned due to war, which are the backbone of dry-zone water management. In Trincomalee alone, 205 minor tanks and 25 bunds were listed before 1985; restoring them could produce about 500,000 metric tons of rice annually and reduce imports. Despite repeatedly raising this in Budget debates and DCC meetings, nothing has moved.

¶ 05 Housing: An additional Rs. 3,000 million for the national “A Home of One’s Own – A Beautiful Life” low-income housing scheme is welcome, but inadequate; allocations should be multiplied. Rs. 2,000 million for families facing landslide risk is also insufficient. Critically, there is no dedicated housing program for thousands of war-displaced families in the North and East still living in temporary shelters; special schemes and funding are needed. Many in the North cannot meet the title-deed precondition because their lands remain under military control; lands must be returned so they can qualify and rebuild.

¶ 06 Tourism and airports: Rs. 1,000 million is allocated to develop Sigiriya and Trincomalee domestic airports and expand Jaffna International Airport – a significant direct investment for the North and East. But there are no allocations for intra-regional tourism link roads, water supply, or waste management to support tourism nodes. The Budget aspires for Sri Lanka to be a leading transport hub; that implicitly includes Trincomalee’s natural harbour and Jaffna’s cultural assets, yet there are no concrete projects or funds for distinctive Northern and Eastern tourism products: Jaffna Fort, Nallur Kovil and the seven islets; establishing Pigeon Island National Park facilities, whale watching, Nilaveli/Uppuveli beach development; Batticaloa’s lagoon-centric tourism and cultural centres.

¶ 07 Rural development: The “Prajasakthi” integrated rural development allocation rises to Rs. 25,000 million, to be implemented via Social Development Councils in every GN division. Given existing CBOs – rural development societies, women’s groups, fisheries associations, village councils, and co-ops – creating new councils risks politicization. Funds should flow through established grassroots institutions.

¶ 08 Regional infrastructure: Beyond generic road and bridge allocations, the Budget omits critical regional enablers: upgrading the A-9 to higher standard; enhancing Trincomalee Port for commerce; and improving Eastern rail connectivity. These require funding.

¶ 09 Sports: Rs. 150 million to upgrade sports complexes in the North and East, Rs. 150 million to complete the Kalmunai ground, and Rs. 225 million to improve existing stadiums are inadequate. Facilities like Jaffna’s Duraiappah Stadium, Trincomalee’s McHeyzer Stadium, and Batticaloa’s Weber Stadium need dedicated funds to reach international standards, attract events, and earn foreign exchange through sports tourism.

¶ 10 Thank you.