The Hon. Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, this question has been asked several times before without an answer; therefore, I thank the Hon. Minister for responding today. The project proposed for Lunugamwehera is necessary, but there are serious allegations about how it was implemented by the then Government and officials. According to your Answer, needs appear to have been secondary to vested interests, which is why there is public criticism. Various projects exist to protect elephants. In my electorate of Kolonna, and in Ratnapura and Udawalawe, there is a centre, but the Government has failed at times to provide even basic necessities. These areas are important for tourism, yet due to lack of basic resources, operations are inefficient.

¶ 02 Overall, past Governments’ actions to protect elephants are unsatisfactory. In your short tenure, have you identified a new approach and programmes to take this forward, or will you follow the old plans and officials?