The Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, in the Committee Stage debate on the 2025 Budget, I wish to comment on the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Resources, Lands and Irrigation. The total allocation to this Ministry is Rs. 216.9 billion—Rs. 83.9 billion for recurrent and Rs. 133 billion for capital—an increase of Rs. 62 billion over last year, which is welcome. However, allocations to agriculture and livestock have been reduced by 2.6%, and development allocations by 5.76%. The Irrigation Department’s development allocation is down by 22.4% from last year. These cuts are inconsistent with the government’s goal of rice self-sufficiency.

¶ 02 Recently, rice price hikes and shortages have become pressing issues. Prices rise when supply fails to meet demand. One key reason for insufficient supply—beyond natural disasters—is that in Trincomalee District, 205 small tanks and 25 anicuts abandoned during the war have not been rehabilitated. If restored, about 12,000 acres could be brought under paddy, increasing production by 24,000 metric tons.

¶ 03 The primary obstacles to increasing paddy production are officials of the Forest Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation, who behave as if conquering and prohibiting cultivation on people’s lands, contrary to the government’s policy. I ask the Minister to pay special attention to this.

¶ 04 In the Verugal DS Division (Trincomalee), the total area is 32,042 acres; of this, the Forest Department claims 25,242 acres and Wildlife claims 11,906 acres—altogether 37,148 acres claimed within a division of 32,042 acres! People joke that only these departments have such a talent. In Kinniya’s Kuchchaveli DS Division, the Forest Department has taken 29,430 acres and seeks another 28,372; Wildlife holds 7,330 acres; the Archaeology Department 1,087 acres; and Buddhist monks, under “Pooja grant,” 3,820 acres. Thus, 70,039 acres cultivated before 1985 have been blocked, reducing one-season paddy by 140,000 metric tons.

¶ 05 The Yan Oya flows through Thiriyai in Kuchchaveli. An anicut across it stores water, which is good. However, water from the dam is diverted 20 km away to tanks in Padavi Siripura and similarly to tanks in Komarankadawala. But the bank-side Neelapannikan Tank in the same basin does not receive water—an act of bias. If Yan Oya water is given to Neelapannikan, 5,000 acres could be cultivated in two seasons, increasing output by 10,000 metric tons.

¶ 06 Likewise, in Muttur DS Division, tanks such as Perukanguveli, Maenkamam, Periyavelik Kulam, Kiliwetti Kulam, and Kiran Kulam have been encroached by individuals. The Irrigation Department does not seem to maintain them or prevent encroachment. If restored, 3,000 acres could be cultivated, adding 6,000 metric tons annually. During Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure, a government order was issued to release lands cultivated before 1985 back for cultivation. Yet it has not been implemented—“though the government agrees, officials do not.” Are they deliberately preventing paddy production and creating crises for the government? The Minister should look into this.

¶ 07 The Archaeology Department is also blocking previously farmed lands by erecting boundary stones but failing to find any antiquities—yet still refusing to release lands. For example, around 1,000 acres in Thiriyai have been cordoned off for 3–4 years without any discovery, while refusing to return it—badly impacting paddy production.

¶ 08 In Trincomalee District, pre-1985 cultivated lands now claimed are: 118,710 acres by Forest, 111,619 by Wildlife, 2,599 by Archaeology, and 3,820 by “Pooja grant”—a total of 236,748 acres blocked, reducing by roughly 500,000 metric tons per season. The Minister must address this. When rice prices rise, the government loses public support. To retain trust, release those pre-1985 farmlands and increase production.

¶ 09 Pasture is also a major issue in Verugal. Wildlife has blocked traditional pastures such as Angodai and Mavil Aru, saying only wild animals can graze and not domestic livestock. In 2008, there were 28,000 head of cattle among 600 herders; due to lack of fodder and disease, a few thousand have died; only 15,200 remain. Who is responsible for the economic loss to herders? Similar issues exist in Thambalagamuwa, Kinniya, Kuchchaveli, and Morawewa DS divisions.

¶ 10 Therefore, I urge the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Resources, Lands and Irrigation to release the lands cultivated before 1985, open pasturelands for cattle, and rectify irrigation schemes to increase both paddy production and livestock development.

¶ 11 Thank you.