The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Medium-Term Tourism Development Plans

¶ 02 The medium-term tourism development plan has been prepared for the period 2027-2029 and has already been submitted to the Department of National Planning for recommendations. The projects under this plan were selected by the Provincial Councils, District Secretariats and District Coordination Committees. A total of 49 projects worth Rs. 2,752 million have been submitted for this purpose. They are given in Annex 03.

¶ 03 Under this, development projects such as the development of tourist destinations in Sigiriya and Dambulla, the development of the Knuckles tourism area in Wasgamuwa, the development of the Hiniduma foggy zone, the restoration of the Doric Bungalow in Mannar, the development of the Dutch Fort in Batticaloa and eco-tourism projects are scheduled to be implemented.

¶ 04 Furthermore, recommendations have been obtained from the Department of National Planning for the “Centralized E-Ticketing Platform”, a proposed plan aimed at facilitating tourists’ access to destinations. For this purpose, a sum of Rs. 187.121 million has been allocated.

¶ 05 Additionally, a project report prepared to develop the Beira Lake at a cost of Rs. 2,500 million and gain tourist attraction has been submitted to the Department of National Planning for recommendations.

¶ 06 Long-Term Tourism Development Plans

¶ 07 Measures have been taken to obtain the necessary consultancy services to formulate the Tourism Sector Strategic Action Plan for 2026-2030 under the World Bank Grant Project.

¶ 08 Plans are currently being prepared to enhance the capacity of institutions in the tourism sector, with an expenditure of Rs. 50 million under the World Bank Grant.

¶ 09 Question asked:

¶ 10 (a) Will he inform this House - (i) the total extent of land alienated under the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority settlement schemes since inception and the number of beneficiary families that remain without clear title deeds; (ii) the land parcels transferred, leased or reallocated for commercial or industrial use since 2015, the criteria applied and the authority granting approval for such transfers; (iii) whether there are instances of irregular occupation or secondary transactions of Mahaweli lands, (iv) if so, the corrective action taken; (v) the present status of land digitalization, GIS mapping, and the issuance of secure tenure documentation; (vi) whether the Government consider legislative reforms to regularize long-term occupants and strengthen transparency in land allocation; (vii) the extent and location of land which have not been utilized for efficient economic activities; and (viii) the economic return of the Mahaweli Project, separately for each year over the last 10 years?

¶ 11 (b) If not, why?