10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka

21 January 2025 ·Papers: Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas

Public FinanceEnvironmentLand & Housing
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Anura Kumara Dissanayaka provided details of identified landslide-risk areas in the Badulla District, stating that 241 families or locations had been identified across several Divisional Secretariat divisions. He outlined existing resettlement assistance, including grants for land purchase, land with a house, or house construction, and said a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared to increase these amounts due to current market prices. He also noted temporary rental assistance for affected families, evacuation arrangements during heavy rainfall based on National Building Research Organization warnings, and proposed amendments to the Disaster Management Act concerning persons unwilling to resettle from high-risk areas.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 (a) (i) It is indicated in Annex.

¶ 02 Annexure

¶ 03 Identified landslide risk areas/places in the Badulla District, with identified houses and locations with immovable properties, and number of risk locations/families:

¶ 04 - Ella - Karandagolla (13) - Gawarawela (1) - Nawela West/72F (1) - Newburgh (1) - Pupula (2) - Madhuragama (1) - Halpe (2) - Uva Paranagama - Galahagama - Telhawadigama - Ambatenna West - Gonagala East - Gonagala West - Thannuge - Ankada - Dambagahawela - Bandarawela - Ambadandegama - Kinigama - Tanthiriya - Bandarawela West - Bambaragama/70 - Mahaulpatha - Mahaulpatha/66D - Wewathenna - Badulla - Kendagolla - Pitawelagama - Badulla Central/78 - Badulla Central/78D - Malangamuwa - Haputale - Hegoda - Mudiyala - Medagama - Bibilamulla - Allanda - Meegahakivula - Lunugala - Arawakumbura - Galwelagama - Udakiruwa/92/A - Arawakumbura, Janatapura North - Welimada - Wellawaya - Palugama, Ella - Kurugama - Soranatota - Ambalasdowa - Idamepanguwa - Kohowila/26 - Kohowila - Pussellakanda (Haputale DS) - Haldumulla, Uvathenna (1) - Kalupahana (6) - Kelipanawela (30) - Kithulgahaarawa (4) - Kotabakma (2) - Nawulla (4) - Punagala (3) - Moraketiya and Nikapotha East (5) - Ranwanguhawa (2) - Haldumulla (2) - Haliela - Kottegoda (1) - Bogahamadiththa/74B (1) - Wewelhinna/85A (1) - Udagama (3)

¶ 05 Total: 241.

¶ 06 (ii) It is indicated in Annex. (iii) It is indicated in Annex. (iv) Under the resettlement programme currently in operation, the Government has granted Rs. 400,000 for buying a plot of land, Rs. 1,600,000 for buying a land with a house, and Rs. 1,200,000 for building a house on a land either provided by the Government or on a privately owned land.

¶ 07 However, since the current amounts are insufficient for constructing houses or purchasing land/houses under the prevailing market prices, steps are being taken to submit a Cabinet Memorandum proposing to increase the amount allocated for purchasing a land to Rs. 500,000, for purchasing a land with a house to Rs. 2,500,000 and for constructing a house to Rs. 2,000,000 while reducing the floor area of the house to 550 square feet. Additionally, until approval is obtained, necessary arrangements are being made to utilize the currently allocated funds to set up a room, a kitchen and a bathroom for occupation, instead of completing the full 650 square feet of the house.

¶ 08 Furthermore, a housing rental allowance up to Rs. 10,000 per month is being provided for a period of six months to families whose houses were damaged due to landslides. Within this six-month period, necessary preliminary arrangements must be made to resettle these families in a safe location.

¶ 09 Furthermore, during instances of heavy rainfall, necessary coordination is carried out to evacuate individuals residing in high-risk areas, as identified by warnings issued by the National Building Research Organization, and relocate them to safe locations under the supervision of District and Divisional Secretaries.

¶ 10 Provisions relating to measures to be taken with regard to individuals who are unwilling to join the resettlement programme and those currently residing in high-risk houses have been included in the Disaster Management Act and proposals for amending the Act have been submitted.

¶ 11 (b) Does not arise.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Tuesday, 21 January 2025 ·No. 1737707091008005 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 January 2025. No. 1737707091008005. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/27388