The village makes Sri Lanka a paradise : Achieving balanced regional development – key to success By Dhaneshi Yatawara According to Central Bank reports the Western Province of Sri Lanka contributes 45 percent to the national economy. Obviously the major contribution comes from the other regions away from the commercial hub. At the village level the rural infrastructure development program is the ‘Gama Neguma’. Projects include constructing minor irrigation systems and drinking water projects. The second highest contributors are the Southern and North Western Provinces. Uva and the North Central Provinces contribution are 4.8 percent and 4.6 percent which is less than even the Eastern Province, which is now rebuilt after being devastated from terrorism. A glimpse into the regional contribution to the economy highlights the importance of giving attention on developing the outer regions of the country. Eighty percent of the population live in rural areas. The situation has been the same for decades and the flow of resources in support of development programs has been uneven in rural areas. Projects started by the Governments in the post independent era could not successfully cater to the demands of the rural economy. The village played a vital role in making the country self-sufficient and that was the Sri Lankan economic base. This fact is deep-rooted in our culture and the result of our acquaintances with different economic ideologies were not beneficial. Early recovery Today, in the post-conflict situation, early recovery is essential. At the initial stages people need quick impact projects and then long-term measures for economic and social stability. Achieving a balanced regional development is the key to success in countries like Sri Lanka. Since we are a nation of villages thriving with micro-economics, it plays a greater role in developing the entire nation. Once President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a message said: “I strongly believe that minimising the deficiencies in the regional development and converting all sections of the people as stakeholders is the vision of a leader.” Perfectly identifying this element, President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his vision for the development of the country, the Mahinda Chinthana, highlighted the importance of strengthening the village communities. It is based on this, today Sri Lanka is developing into five metro units based on the availability of regional resources using them efficiently and non destructively. The uplift in Hambanthota is one of the results of this concept. ‘Gama Neguma’ the first such development initiative of the Mahinda Chinthana is to develop a region upgrading the livelihood of the local people, infrastructure as well as sanitary and water facilities. Foreign funds Mega development projects are initiated with the support of local and foreign funds and soft loans. Filling the gaps in power supply, water, health and access roads in regions is crucial in making the ground situation attractive for foreign investments. It is the concept of the Mahinda Chinthana Policy’ to transfer the 16,000 villages in the country to prosperous units by 2016 providing fast track development for less developed regions of the country. The strength of the country is the strength of the village. Rural infrastructure At the village level the rural infrastructure development program is the ‘Gama Neguma’. Projects include constructing minor irrigation systems, drinking water projects, poultry and concreting rural roads. Gama Neguma is not limited to building roads and providing electricity to villages, it is about uplifting the life of every single family in the village. Gama Neguma has a participatory approach and people of the village are involved in developing their own village. According to the Mahinda Chinthana the first step of the Gama Neguma project infrastructure development of villages and relevant projects was completed in 2007-2008. In Gama Neguma, the spiritual uplift of villagers was another key concern. Gama Neguma will be the main program bringing together a number of other specific programs focused on livelihood development and poverty reduction at village level. With an objective of maximum devotion towards nation building the `Gama Neguma’ was launched by the Government under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in the latter part of 2006. `Gama Neguma’ - Village Uplift - is the major rural development program of the National Development plan. The ‘Gama Neguma’ implemented through three main pivots – i.e., construction and improvements of infrastructure facilities, establishment of livelihoods and creation of a virtuous society in the villages. There are two main channels for delivering Government programs to the village - one is the decentralised system comprising the District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats and the Grama Niladhari. The other, will be the devolved system which comprises the Provincial Councils and Local Government Authorities - particularly the Pradeshiya Sabhas. The government has spent Rs. 6.37 billion for development of the rural economy through the Gama Neguma program in 2010. The expenditure covered the implementation of 32,526 projects in 10,567 Grama Niladhari Divisions throughout the country. The highest number of projects was implemented in the Gampaha district amounting to 4,917 projects at a cost of Rs. 859 million. These projects were implemented in 919 Grama Niladhari Divisions of the district. Project wise Kurunegala is second highest with 4570 projects implemented at a cost of Rs. 405 Million, covering 1,250 Grama Niladhari Divisions. In terms of investment Galle District occupies the 2nd highest position with 1,861 projects implemented at a cost of Rs. 425 million covering 650 Grama Niladhari Divisions. To empower each family the Government launched the ‘Divi Neguma’ program. Successfully completing the first phase the ‘Divi Neguma’ national development drive at its second stage aims to develop 2.1 million households. The second stage of the Home Gardening program under the ‘Divi Neguma’ was launched last week on an auspicious time. ‘Divi Neguma’ is a collective effort of 20 line ministries and relevant departments coordinated through the Economic Development Ministry. The main objective of the project is to uplift the living standard of families, to improve their nutrition level and ensure food safety while minimising the cost of living enabling the families to generate an extra income as well. The Government believes that the village, while retaining its strengths and impressive features, can be developed as a micro centre of growth with the vision that the village has to be a decent and comfortable place for people to live, work and engage in their cultural and communal activities. It is time to rebuild the nation. At a time where threatened villages were totally obliterated from the Sri Lankan map it is now the time to remove the villages stricken with hardships. With a vision towards a prosperous new Sri Lanka, amidst many debates, fiascos we are moving forward providing opportunities to all from social and economic empowerment, focusing on balanced sustainable development in the village, region and country to ethnic harmony and peace. At times the process may become slow, at times it is swift - yet we are steady.