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by Ananda Kannangara

Nuwara Eliya District UNP MP Navin Dissanayake in an interview with the Sunday Observer said that uninterrupted power supply, is the need of the hour to develop all sectors. The Mahaweli accelerated scheme, initiated by the UNP regime in 1977 was instrumental in adding more power by threefold to the national grid.

Below are excerpts of the interview:

Question: What do you think about the future plans made by the present Government to increase the country's power generation ?

Answer: Unlike the UNP which had implemented several power generation projects during their time, the present Government have not, so far, focused much attention on this issue. It is a very bad sign, as whichever government is in power, they have to concentrate on this most important sector for economic progress.

Q: The Electricity Board had to impose power cuts by sometimes for five to six hours each day in the not too distant past. Can you comment on this ?

A: When there is no proper administration, these type of happenings cannot be avoided. But if the Government which was in power at that time, had acted wisely, the power supply would never have been interrupted.

As you are aware the country's economic progress ground to a halt due to this pathetic situation. As a result, some small scale industrialists who were not in a sound financial position and could not afford generators closed shop. But the UNP which took over in 2003 took a quick remedial action and solved it within a very short span of time with assistance from foreign countries. Due to this, the country is enjoying the benefits of an uninterrupted supply.

Q: What are the new power generation projects the UNP have in mind if elected to power?

A: If we go through the history we can see that the UNP had launched several projects, long before the Mahaweli project was launched. Our leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has "Uma Oya" in Moneragala and the Kerawalapitiya power projects in his mind in the first phase. We will also pay special attention on the "Norochcholai project" which is badly needed at this juncture to offset other shortcomings.

Q: Our country is blessed with several waterfalls, but unfortunately some of the governments in the past never bothered to focus their attention on them. What is your comment on this ?

A: We have identified several 'untouched' waterfalls which could be used to start mini hydro power projects. We hope to commence more and more projects of this nature as they will largely benefit small scale industries as well as the households in rural areas.

Q: Do you think the present tariff of the Electricity Board is fairly steep for consumers ?

A: Yes. Our objective is to provide electricity at affordable rates. We hope to charge Rs. five per unit.

Q: Uplift of the country's agricultural sector is vital. As you are aware that most farmers in our country do not have lands of their own. What's your response on this ?

A: Majority of the farmers do cultivate lands which they do not own. Meanwhile some sections in our farmer community do hold "Swarnaboomi and Jayaboomi" deeds. Therefore we hope to introduce legislation to grant legal ownership to them. It is also our intention to enable tenant farmers (Ande goviya) to obtain outright ownership of the lands they cultivate, while ensuring that the (absentee) landlord gets a fair and realistic price for his land.

Q: What are the other benefits for the farmer community ?

A: The farmer community and the fisherfolk are in distress today. Therefore we have decided to give them many more benefits to enable them to develop their respective sectors. We will promote agricultural and fishing villages to enhance their productivity and their income.

We will appoint a special authority with powers to provide Rs. one million per year for each and every village. We will also write off their bank loans. In addition to this we will purchase paddy at a guaranteed price of Rs. 17 per kilo and provide all varieties of fertilizers at Rs. 550 per 50 kg bag as a subsidy.

We will also pay Rs. 25 per litre of milk to the milk producer. We have also planned to provide an increased financial subsidy of Rs. 200,000 to tea small holders.

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