The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, Batticaloa District comprises 14 Divisional Secretariat divisions; 12 are currently gazetted. Koralaipattu Central and Koralaipattu South (Kiran) are yet to be gazetted.

¶ 02 In 1999, following the Panambalana Committee appointed by then Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Cabinet Decision No. AMAP 00/1155/05/65 of 13 July 2000 approved establishing eight new DS offices across six districts. Of those eight, five have been gazetted; the remaining not gazetted are Navithanveli in Ampara, and Koralaipattu Central and Koralaipattu South in Batticaloa.

¶ 03 Panambalana recommended 11 GN divisions for Koralaipattu Central. Currently eight GNs function there, covering 7.22 sq. km. If expanded to 11, the total area would change to 240 sq. km—an increase of 232 sq. km with the additional three GNs. In 2011, when linking parts of Koralaipattu North (Vakarai) to Koralaipattu Central, public and MPs protested, hindering gazetting and administration. The District Secretary reports that delays and complications are due to such objections.

¶ 04 A meeting on boundary issues among Koralaipattu (Valaichchenai), Koralaipattu North (Vakarai), Koralaipattu South (Kiran), Koralaipattu West (Ottamavadi) and Koralaipattu Central was held at the Parliamentary Complex on 24 January 2013 with Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah participating, but no decision was reached. Despite discussions with various parties, no conclusive decision has been possible; hence gazetting has not occurred to date. We must act in a way that avoids ethnic tensions.

¶ 05 I am pleased that all Hon. Members agree that this must be resolved by discussion without communal strife. I appreciate your cooperation.

¶ 06 After the Panambalana Committee, further Delimitation Committees in 2012 and 2021 under our Ministry’s Home Affairs Division made recommendations, but consensus could not be reached, so matters are being resubmitted to District and Divisional Coordinating Committees. You have the opportunity to discuss at those committees and submit an agreed proposal. We expect you to deliberate there and give us a consensus proposal. We will review it and, instead of resorting again to a new delimitation process causing further delay, if you agree on a solution, there is no issue for us to consider it promptly. As a Government, we accept that this issue must be resolved. It predates 1999 and is not sudden; we will certainly resolve it. We request cooperation from all sides. I believe we can settle this through dialogue.

¶ 07 Thank you very much.