The government is committed to removing settlements encroaching on tank reserves to protect the country’s irrigation systems, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K. D. Lal Kantha said Monday, emphasizing a firm stance despite protests and political pressure.
Speaking at the launch of a cascade management committee handbook under the World Bank–funded Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project, Lal Kantha said encroachments remain the main obstacle in renovating and protecting tank reserves and cascade irrigation systems that are vital to agriculture and water security.
“The tank reserves must be free from encroachments. Words, friendships or political interference cannot stop these measures,” the minister said, noting that the government has already begun relocating settlements within certain tank reserves, including Nuwara Weva in Anuradhapura, though resistance has emerged from some residents.
Lal Kantha assured that residents who are relocated will be compensated and provided with improved livelihoods, drawing parallels with the Mahaweli Development Project, under which communities were resettled and given better living conditions. “When people were given better lives, it did not become an issue,” he said.
The minister also criticized proposals by some officials to adjust tank reserve boundaries to prioritize nearby residents, saying such thinking undermines long-term protection of water infrastructure. “I do not believe tank reserves can be protected as long as there are officers with such a mindset,” he said. (NewsWire)