The government has moved to expedite compensation for paddy farmers in Matara whose crops were damaged over seven cultivation seasons by the Nilwala River salinity barrier, with Rs. 1,200 million earmarked for the payments, officials said on Tuesday.
The barrier was built in 2019 by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) as a special project to prevent saltwater intrusion into drinking water intakes serving the Matara district. Irregular construction of the structure has been blamed for repeated saline inflow onto paddy land in the catchment, destroying cultivation cycles and reducing yields.
Farmers in Dikwella, Kamburupitiya, Kekanadura, Madiha, Malimbada, Meda Uyangoda, Kalalla and Wilpita have been identified as affected. According to officials, farmer organisations had raised the damage with successive governments since the barrier was commissioned, but no formal compensation framework was put in place until now.
The Rs. 1.2 billion allocation is intended to cover losses incurred across seven consecutive seasons, from the 2019 Yala season through to the 2022 Yala season. Farmers who registered crop damage with their local Agrarian Service Centres during those seasons will be eligible for payments.
The compensation process will factor in recommendations from the Matara District Secretary, agricultural commissioners, district officials, public representatives and farming community representatives, the government said. Officials described the move as addressing a long-standing grievance neglected by previous administrations.
No specific disbursement calendar has been published, but authorities said the payments would begin once eligibility lists were finalised.
Source: Ada Derana.
