The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, several Members have already spoken on the motion to extend the emergency. We earlier stressed that if a disaster was declared under the Disaster Management Act, then under Sections 10, 11 and 12, the necessary measures could be taken without resorting to emergency regulations—thus avoiding opportunities for abuse. Even with emergency declared, many tasks that should proceed under normal law have not occurred.

¶ 02 Let me cite one instance. On 5 December, residents wrote to the President seeking assistance to stop a quarrying operation that threatened lives and property. The road from Urulewatta to Ilukwatta has collapsed; in Kirivawula division too, rockfalls occur. In Udunuwara PS limits, below the Monarakanda and Sindurankanda hills there are two large rock masses that have activated, causing severe damage—houses sliding, people displaced, trees, canals and streams destroyed. No responsible officials have even visited. There is also the ancient Pothgul Rajamaha Viharaya in the area; the access road to this temple has been completely destroyed. No attention has been given. Twenty-four houses have been marked for evacuation; four people have died—Jeevan (38), his wife, and two children in Ganguldeniya were killed when rocks fell and the house was destroyed. In 2016, a similar incident in Rammalaka caused nine deaths; then quarrying was stopped by order, but that too has been relaxed now. Serious questions arise as to how officials—Divisional Secretaries and officers of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau—grant such permits. Today, the Daily Mirror headline asks: “Sri Lanka still among the worst in the world to protect the environment?” We must examine the process of granting approvals to such quarrying that contributes to landslides and environmental harm. Yet even NBRI officers have not visited.

¶ 03 I am tabling the residents’ message to the President and related documents, and I expect action.

¶ 04 Adjacent to Udunuwara, in Kallugamuwa, when a large protest was planned, only after the President was forcefully handed a message during a visit did officials arrive—then they merely reissued an old report. No proper valuation has been done of fully and partially damaged houses, especially along the riverbanks. Likewise, no one has gone to the old Elpitiya area. Using emergency while failing to do what normal law requires invites criticism of the Government.

¶ 05 In the Eastern Province, in the palmyrah industry, there is a severe shortage of workers. Those seeking to mechanize need permits but cannot obtain them. Compensation for “Ditva” damage to palmyrah is delayed. I emphasize these matters again. We oppose further extension of the emergency as unnecessary.

¶ 06 Thank you.