The Hon. Susil Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, I provide the reply to Question No. 619/2025 regarding the Mahaweli Re-awakening Week: Objective and Money Spent.

¶ 02 (a) (i) Yes, a programme titled “Mahaweli Punaruda Sathiya” (Mahaweli Re-awakening Week) was recently implemented.

¶ 03 (ii) Objectives included: - Expediting Mahaweli development programmes - Alleviating poverty in active farmer organization areas - Implementing programmes in Mahaweli regions in alignment with the Clean Sri Lanka National Programme - Developing infrastructure within Mahaweli areas, including rural roads, canal systems and tank rehabilitation - Implementing timely priority projects delivering direct benefits to communities - Executing identified projects in farmer organization areas with maximum community participation and transparency - Promoting cooperation among farmers and between farmers and officials

¶ 04 (iii) Total expenditure: Rs. 52.758 million.

¶ 05 (iv) Actions undertaken included: - 485 shramadana (voluntary) programmes aligned with Clean Sri Lanka - 191 agricultural development programmes - 163 fisheries and livestock development programmes - 192 irrigation and road development programmes - 212 farmer organization and community development programmes - 64 enterprise development programmes for entrepreneurship - 105 environmental conservation programmes - 34 medical clinic programmes - 108 anti-drug programmes at zonal office level to protect Mahaweli children from drug menace - 69 land development programmes - 25 office management training programmes to develop staff knowledge, skills and attitudes

¶ 06 (b) Not applicable as per the above.