President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called on state officials to fulfill their role as the intermediary mechanism responsible for ensuring that the benefits of government development projects effectively reach the people.
The President made these remarks while chairing the Special District Coordination Committee (DCC) meeting held at the Ratnapura District Secretariat. The session reviewed the 2025 progress of development programmes across the district and addressed challenges in their implementation.
Emphasizing efficient use of allocated funds, President Dissanayake warned that returning unutilized budgets to the Treasury not only stalls development but also leads to resource wastage. He stressed that funds repeatedly earmarked for incomplete projects prevent the launch of new initiatives.
Criticizing previous practices, the President noted that many government projects had been launched without feasibility studies or long-term maintenance plans. Citing examples such as the Hambantota SAARC Cultural Centre and the Anuradhapura Auditorium, he highlighted the difficulty in sustaining such facilities due to the lack of managing institutions. The President suggested that the private sector may be better suited to operate certain public facilities, including tourist bungalows, inns, and markets that currently remain underused.
Disaster risks in the district were also discussed. The National Building Research Organization reported that approximately 15,000 families reside in landslide-prone areas, with 2,763 families in high-risk zones. Although a “Dry Dam” project involving two Kalu Ganga tributaries was proposed in 2014 to mitigate flooding, no feasibility study has been conducted to date. The President agreed to allocate funding in the upcoming budget for a new feasibility study on flood prevention in Ratnapura.
Other key topics included child protection and drug control. Police officials reported a monitoring system has been established with Divisional Secretariats to identify and assist at-risk children. Daily anti-narcotics operations have contributed to some control over the drug situation, officials said.
The President also reviewed plans for a gemstone trading centre with a value-addition laboratory, and urged the productive use of commercially valuable, underutilized land near Ratnapura city owned by the Urban Development Authority.
The meeting was attended by senior government and provincial officials, including Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Deputy Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Pradeep Sundaralingam, Sabaragamuwa Province Governor Champa Janaki Rajaratne, and Ratnapura District Secretary K.G.S. Nishantha. (Newswire)
