Five years of development - Kalutara district:

Moves from rural to an urban centre

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

Minister Kumara Welgama inspects a factory	The Kaluganga Water Supply Project
The Beruwala Fisheries Harbour	The Hidakaramulla new bridge

Major rural electrification, road construction, urban and fisheries development projects have been implemented in Kalutara district, said Industrial Development Minister and Kalutara District Co-ordinating Committee Chairman Kumara Welgama.

The basic infrastructure development such as electricity, telecommunication and developed road network are vital for the socio-economic and political uplift of a country. Some areas of the Kalutara District such as Agalawatta electorate did not get the opportunity to reap the benefits of modern development until recently. Today the area has transformed into a rapidly developed urban centre mainly due to the Kukulegama power generation project which adds 75mw to the national grid, he said.

The road network in the district too was developed and most of the rural roads were carpeted. Agalawatta-Kalutara road upto Nagoda junction is one such road, he cited. The government had spent total of 200 million rupees for road alone during the last five years, he said. Referring to Kaluganga irrigation project which aim at flood control of the district, the minister said that the Chinese government had agreed to finance the project to be commenced shortly.

As the cabinet minister in charge of industrial development, Welgama took the initiative to set up major industrial ventures and medium scale industries all over the country through the `Industrial Estate Scheme’ and `Gamata Karmantha 300 - program’ introduced by Mahinda Chintana policy framework.

Industrial growth

The main target of the government’s industrial policy was to encourage industrialists to invest at regional level and also the provision of employment to the rural masses, the minister said.

Referring to Kalutara district, he said that the three industrial estates set up at Kalutara, Horana and Matugama electorates. Among the three the largest one at Matugama Pallegodawatte spreads over to an area of 50 acres. The leading Sri Lankan companies such as Ramco, AMW had launched their industrial ventures with foreign collaborators, he said.

Referring to the government’s Regional Industrial Development policy Minister Welgama said that one of the main obstacles for industrial development in the country was the disparity of infrastructure facilities in the regions compared to Colombo district and its suburbs. Under the regional industrial Estate development programme, lands are identified in the regions and developed with the provision of major infrastructure facilities such as roads, electricity, water supply, telecommunication, etc required by industrialists to set up their industries, minister said.

Under the “Gamata Karmantha” project nearly thirty large scale industries have been set up in the Kalutara district. According to the Industrial Development Ministry Secretary, R.V.D. Piyatileka the basic requirement to register with the “Gamata Karmantha” programme is that the proposed industrial venture should be an investment of over Rs.30 mn with 200 employment opportunities.

`The industrial section is an essential and prime force for the economic development of the country. In Sri Lanka the industrial sector comprises a range of large corporate firms, small and medium scale enterprises, as well as micro household business”, Piyatileka said. Under the able guidance of Minister Welgama Sri Lanka is a fast industrializing at present. Industrial Development Ministry and BoI have already reached the “Gamata Karmantha” 300 industries project targets Piyatileka said.

The district of Kalutara, in extent 1598 sq km and a population of 1,111,000 has 14 Divisional Secretary’s Divisions and 76 Grama Niladhari Divisions. Relative to the other districts it displays distinct difference where population and geological factors are concerned. It has a vast potential for Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Industries.

The Director, Planning Secretariat Kalutara Jayampathi Medis said that a total of 699 Projects costing Rs.38,667,859 was implemented in 13 divisional secretary divisions under “Jathika Saviya Gama Naguma” programme during the last five years.

He said that special attention was focused on the dredging of irrigation canals in the Bandaragama Divisional Secretariat Division enabling more than 400 farmers to cultivate their paddy lands afresh which remained abandoned for a number of years.

Employment

A number of self-employment projects was launched in the Bulathsinhala Palinda Nuwara and Walallawita Divisional Secretariat divisions. The Nation Building Ministry had allocated a total of Rs.479,755,000 for development activities in the district under “Gama Naguma program”, Roads moreover 100,000 kilometres were either concreted or widened in the district under Maga Naguma Programme.

One of the largest allocations was for the rural electrification schemes totalling to Rs.50,800,000. A number of rural electrification schemes was launched in the Bulathsinhala Divisional Secretariat area where infrastructure facilities are in poor condition. A series of projects for the spiritual development of the people were also launched with the concurrence of respective Janasabhas in the districts. The rural community through the Janasabhas has been provided the opportunity to make right policy decisions in the context of development priorities in their areas

The modern fisheries harbour in Beruwala funded by the People’s Republic of China commissioned in 2008. Rs.410 million had been spent to construct a breakwater, revetment to retain dredged sand, excavation unit, a weigh bridge, office building and a boat repairing unit.

The Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development, Rohitha Abeygunawardena said that the reconstruction of the new Beruwala harbour is of imminent value to fishing community. It is well-equipped to cater to the fishermen who engage in day-to-day activities, he said.