A total of 786 development projects with an estimated value of Rs. 997.84 million are planned for the Nuwara Eliya district under Praja Shakthi, the government’s national poverty eradication programme.
The figures were disclosed at a progress review held at the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat auditorium, chaired by Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Dr. Upali Pannila, Ada Derana reported. NewsFirst carried the same figures.
Of the district total, 263 are livelihood development projects with an estimated allocation of Rs. 296.19 million, and 286 are infrastructure projects allocated an estimated Rs. 543.22 million.
Pannila instructed officials to expedite the projects so they can be handed over to the public, and said they should be implemented while maintaining fiscal discipline.
The district breakdown does not reconcile
The two categories account for 549 projects, leaving 237 of the 786 unexplained. The same gap appears in the money: the itemised allocations total Rs. 839.41 million against a stated Rs. 997.84 million, a residual of Rs. 158.43 million.
Both outlets published the figures without noting the discrepancy, and neither said what the remaining projects or funds cover. The national figures they reported do reconcile — 8,323 livelihood projects and 7,323 infrastructure projects sum exactly to the 15,646 total, and match the stated 53.2 and 46.8 percent shares.
Per-unit equipment funding appears to have halved
Ada Derana reported that Rs. 182.5 million has been allocated for 2026 to supply technical equipment and facilities to Praja Shakthi units set up at District and Divisional Secretariat level, at Rs. 500,000 per unit. It put the equivalent 2025 allocation at Rs. 365 million.
At Rs. 500,000 each, this year’s total implies 365 units. If the number of units is unchanged, the 2025 allocation works out at Rs. 1 million per unit — meaning the per-unit provision has been cut by half. Neither outlet drew the comparison, and neither gave a unit count directly. NewsFirst reported the Rs. 500,000 per-unit figure but not the annual totals.
The national programme
Praja Shakthi is run jointly by the Rural Development Bureau and the Praja Shakthi National Secretariat, with the aim of implementing at least one development project in every Grama Niladhari division in the country. Rs. 25 billion was allocated through the 2026 Budget.
About 15,646 rural development projects have been started nationwide so far, with a combined value of Rs. 22.425 billion — roughly 90 percent of the budgeted allocation already committed.
