President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday reviewed the Kelani River flood control programme, urban water management schemes in Colombo and the restoration of Beira Lake during a meeting with senior Urban Development Authority officials at the Presidential Secretariat.
The session also focused on a planned housing programme for low-income families in Ratmalana and Moratuwa, two coastal suburbs that have repeatedly featured in disaster relief allocations.
Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake told the meeting a “special model” was needed to ensure the proper management of certain projects, citing the need for effective implementation and long-term sustainability. President Dissanayake stressed that allocations made for new UDA projects must be fully utilised within the current financial year and that work be finalised in consultation with all relevant institutions, with clear responsibilities assigned for implementation and maintenance.
The review comes a day after the Disaster Management Centre reported that adverse weather had damaged 204 houses across 13 districts, affecting 5,277 people and confirming two deaths. With the south-west monsoon now formally establishing over the island, the executive-level scrutiny of flood-control delivery signals that the government expects renewed pressure on the Kelani basin in the coming weeks.
Also attending the meeting were Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara, Ministry Secretary Senior Prof. Kapila Perera, UDA Chairman M.G. Hemachandra, and the heads of the Urban Settlement Development Authority, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, National Physical Planning Department and Co-Management Authority.
Sources: Newswire
