The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I will raise a few matters while the Hon. Minister of Justice and National Integration is here.

¶ 02 To understand Clean Sri Lanka, let us be serious. I examined the concept paper and the Gazette under Article 33(h). Under 33(h), the President has exercised powers. Clean Sri Lanka rests on three pillars. No one should object to the concept; our concern is with implementation.

¶ 03 I must speak briefly in Tamil. The concept under Article 33 is divided into three: social, environmental, and ethical. Under social, items like public toilets, street maintenance and beautification are mentioned—but in Sinhala, not Tamil. Implementation is shown via a chart. A special Presidential Task Force has been set up to implement this. However, I must tell this august Assembly: these functions traditionally fall to local authorities and provincial councils. We have no issue with the policy and we will cooperate. But on what basis does the Presidential Secretariat take over powers vested in local authorities? The Government has not clarified the power framework.

¶ 04 This echoes past attempts, such as under Basil Rajapaksa, to centralize local authority functions—like road development—under the Presidential Secretariat. Our issue is not with the policy, but with the implementation structure.

¶ 05 You say “A prosperous country, a happy people!” Good. But when you say we will keep public places clean, let me offer a practical point. Recently I traveled by train from Batticaloa to Colombo, lower berth. The train toilets are not water-sealed. Passengers face severe difficulty. My spouse asks, “How can I use a toilet that drops to the tracks through towns and cities?” I am not blaming you; as Hon. Dayasiri said, we must identify such practical issues.

¶ 06 As an MP from Ampara, I must raise the flooding in the Kalmunai–Oluvil belt. I thank the Hon. Deputy Minister Vasantha Piyatissa for highlighting it in this House. I feared we would have to suspend this debate and rush to Ampara. There are three breaches: at Sammanthurai’s Morawil Aru, at Nainakadu in the Irakkamam DS Division, and at the Oluvil Anicut. Thousands of acres of agriculture risk submersion. Under the Gal Oya scheme, right- and left-bank coastal canals are obstructed during flow, leaving thousands of paddy plots at risk. Immediate action under Clean Sri Lanka is needed. Whether it is Hon. Deputy Minister Vasantha Piyatissa, Hon. Athaullah Abubacker, our party colleague Hon. M.S. Uthumalebbe, or Hon. Gavindran Kodeeswaran—we are all ready to join to resolve it. Please ensure the Presidential Secretariat provides all facilities immediately to the Ampara District Coordinating Committees. Thank you.