Not just a pipe dream

Giving hopes based on real facts and not on dreams:

Total development utilizing the existing potentials:

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

[email protected]
 

The Government revenue during the first five months of the year 2008 records a whopping 261.4 billion rupees, according to newspaper reports published during late last week, quoting official reports of the Government.

It has been estimated as a 23% increase compared to the corresponding period last year. 22% increase in the tax income has been contributed as well, the reports indicate.

This is definitely an assessment of the effort contributed by the Government towards the development of the entire country. For any person with a positive attitude this is truly a sign of hope - a hope that is based on real facts and not on dreams.

Whatever the criticisms are the Government and the development programs seem to be reaching their goals. It is noteworthy to mention that this achievement along with the terrorist threat destroying the country for over three decades and all those numerous pressures imposed on this island nation, like false human rights violation accusations, price hike in oil and essential commodities to global warming.

At times, one can find fault with another but the human nature is such that complimenting on achievements is the hardest task of all. This is the sheer truth even kings and queens may have faced.

While India has stopped exporting rice with many other wealthy developed countries have imposed restrictions at different levels to minimize the growing global inflation, whereas Sri Lanka with its limited financial resources, had managed to take a step forward.

During the recently held mega rally at Polonnaruwa celebrate the victory of the UPFA in the Provincial Council elections, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the era of following the trends dictated by the Western world have been put aside. It is enlightening to witness that the Government was brave enough to face the true needs of the nation rather than abiding by the dictates of the world powers.

Village uplift

For a long time we were a nation of village communities. The majority of the population lived in rural areas. If it to be successful, development initiatives should given due recognition to this reality.

Women getting a training for processing lime for export.

Computer training at village level under the Gemi Diriya program

The key policy objective of the Government with regard to rural development is to develop all villages in the country so that they will emerge as the micro centre of growth on modern lines. The village should be able to retain its decent and comfortable nature for people to live, work and engage in their cultural and communal activities.

Records indicate that 60% of the services provided towards the development of the country by the Government are through the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure, ministry sources said.

Considering the importance of the task the President Rajapaksa is involved directly as the subject Minister and along with six other Ministers and a Deputy Minister.

The Gama Neguma or Village Uplift is the highlight of all development projects since it can tap even the least developed rural village. It focuses its attention on each and every grama niladari division of the country.

Gama Neguma ensures that each village will have the following basic facilities - Electricity, access to drinking water without restrictions, developed access roads, schools with adequate human and physical resources, health centres, pre-schools, playgrounds, community centres, market centres and factories to generate employment.

Seeking more details on how this is being done, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Nation Building, G. A. R. Keerthiratne, who is in charge of the development of the North Central Province (NCP), said, it is by tapping the available resources and observing the lifestyle of the villagers. “For example one of the highlights in the North Central Province is the extended cashew cultivation program.”

According to him many arable lands of the Province have become marginal lands due to the cultivation of the same crop for a long time. Hence, the Ministry has found that cashew can be a successful alternative.

Farmers can grow annual crops along with the cashew cultivation, thereby having an uninterrupted income. The annual crops include corn, green gram, kurrakkan etc. Wilachchiya is one of the villages where this project is fully implemented at the moment.

“We target 10,000 acres and at the moment we are going for 3,000 acres”, he added.

Paying special attention to the terrorists affected villages of the NCP, such as Horowpothana, the Ministry has implemented a program to empower the womenfolk.

They are trained in entrepreneurship conducted by the Industrial Development Board and depending on the resources available in their areas they will be able to select a household enterprise for which they will be given a full training. “Then they will be provided financial facilities through loans from the Lankaputhra Bank on special easy terms,” Keerthiratne added.

Another project that takes place in large scale in the NCP is providing electricity for rural areas.

Towards prosperity

On 14 August President Mahinda Rajapaksa initiated the mega project to renovate and reconstruct major irrigation systems.

This includes several water tanks and irrigation systems scattered over the Province such as large tanks, Parakrama Samudra, Kanthale, Girithale, Nachchaduwa and 32 small and medium sized tanks and 64 anicuts.

This is considered as the first major step to address the need of our agriculture sector since the time the first initiation was taken by the former Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake in the post independent era.

Addressing the massive gathering President Rajapaksa noted that the Government is proceeding forward without tearing apart our unique knowledge of our ancestors. Further the Government is transferring this massive knowledge base to the future generation.

Along with the current irrigation development projects taking place under the Ministry of Nation Building, apart from the above mentioned, over 8000 acres of paddy lands are under cultivation.

The Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development has initiated a program named ‘Gammedda’. This is to bring the facilities of the town to the village without shattering the serenity of the village. This complex includes a massive paddy store, offices of the Grama Niladari, Samurdhi and Agrarian Services officer, meeting halls and multi purpose buildings and pre schools.

The first program was launched in Dambulla under the Greater Dambulla program under the Urban Development Authority. Speaking on the occasion Minister Dinesh Gunawardane said that the farmers do not have to waste their time to travel to Dambulla town to check on the prices and various other requirements that they may come across when they are selling their harvest and that they could get all these requirements done in this ‘Gammedda’.

The Ministry is planning to expand this project to other parts of the country as well.

Since the availability of drinking water is a critical problem, especially to rural villages, the Ministry of Urban Development has initiated a drinking water supply scheme in the Anuradhapura district and in the Rathnapura district.

The unique feature of these development programs is its attention towards the rural areas of the country without building up Colombo alone as the commercial hub.

The Gama Neguma Project under Ministry of Nation Building encompasses 697 projects in the Rathnapura district alone. A sum of 370 million rupees has been released for these projects.

According to the Additional Secretary, A. K. Ranawaka, who is in charge of the development of the Rathnapura District, priority is given to projects that has a direct positive impact on the country’s economy. One of the significant features of these projects is the contribution of the public on the development of the village. “It is their village.

They must have a major role to play in there,” Ranawaka added.

“Already 100 million rupees have been allocated for the development of electricity supply and another 400 million rupees handed over for village uplift and development programs,” Additional Secretary in charge of Kegalle district, Ranjith Waidyathilake told us speaking about the developments in the other districts of the Sabaragamuwa province.

“We are targeting to finalize the scheduled programs within three years and our prime objective is to bring each village to a self-sustained level,” Waidyathilake added.

Director General of the Urban Development Authority Prassana Silva said the objective of the development of a city is decentralizing the facilities of a township - avoiding all the facilities getting concentrated in the city area. According to him such development plans will be implemented all over the island and not only in Colombo.

As he explained the UDA have Greater Dambulla project, Greater Kandy Project, Greater Trincomalee project along with the Greater Colombo project.

In all these projects the township is planned in such a way that the people do not have to squeeze in to a narrow town to meet their requirements.

Instead they can freely and easily get their job done in a more systematic place with a free of mind.

Apart from these mega projects, the UDA is focusing on developing each major town and in the list many towns of the island are included and some are under planning. Yet it is happening uninterrupted.

On parallel lines

The development process of the Government seems to be improving each day.

And hopefully Sri Lankans will be able to live in a free and prosperous country in the very near future.

Every development program that caters to each province goes through the Provincial Council with the fullest support of the Chief Minister.

Hence, it is important that both parties need to have the same set of mind and acceptance. Unless people will be the losers, not the politicians.

Regaining pristine glory

Sri Lanka is blessed with a fertile soil and a prosperous culture along with its hard working people. The potentials are there and they only need a little bit of support, a backing up.

The total development programs seems to have understood this reality and focuses on utilizing the existing potentials. Hence, developing this island nation and to bring back its golden era will not be confined to a dream.