Rs. 2,000 m to boost livelihood in North
Development projects to get off ground next month: [December 13 2015]

by P. Krishnaswamy

The ten well-formulated projects that the UNF Government will be implementing in the North next month, under its reconciliatory program, will have salutary impacts on uplifting the living conditions of the people of the conflict-torn region, authorities said.

Consequent to the initial allocation of Rs.2000 million under a Cabinet paper submitted by Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M.Swaminathan the implementation process will begin next month under the management of the Steering Committee of which he is the co-chairman, Ministry Secretary V.Sivagnanasothy told the Sunday Observer.

Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Chief Secretary A.Pathinathan is the other co-chairman of the committee while the Government Agent (GA), Jaffna and the sectoral heads of departments of the province are the members of the committee.

The government identified the ten high impact viable projects in consultation with the NPC Governor, the Chief Minister (CM), Ministers and the planning authorities under its concerted and coordinated reconciliation programs, Sivagnanasothy said.

The high impact 10 projects include construction of bridges and causeways across the sea between Kayts and Karainagar offshore islands and the construction of new passenger boats with a 100 passenger capacity such as the ‘kumudini’ ferry boat . The projects also include the reconstruction of the jetty in Delft and the rehabilitation of the jetty in Elluvaithivu in Kayts; renovation/rehabilitation of roads from Velanai to Kayts and setting up a clinical waste management system for hospitals in the five districts of the province, Sivagnanasothy said.

The projects include the establishment of the disposal system for human waste in the Vadamarachchi, Thenmarachchi and Valikamam in Jaffna district and the systematisation of the collection and segregation of solid waste in the Jaffna Municipal Council. Export-oriented projects include seaweed farming in the coastal areas of the province, he said.

Livelihood and income generation projects include value addition and marketing of milk products, the Vathiri leather industries and Karmarchi Ambal light engineering industries in Kopay. Lack of infrastructure facilities, mainly road networks, connecting over 15 offshore islands with the mainland remained a major drawback towards the islanders’ socio-economic welfare and their contribution to the national economy, Sivagnanasothy said.

Taking into account the fact that nearly 75 percent of the islanders are engaged in fisheries, agriculture, livestock rearing and manufacturing palmyrah based products for their livelihood, program will be implemented to empower them and enhancing their productivity.

Moreover, these targeted projects will also help to achieve inclusive development in the North while supporting the resettled communities to achieve durable solutions as envisaged in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) Report, Sivagnanasothy said.