Project to protect erosion prone areas in hill country

Uditha Kumarasinghe

COLOMBO: A project to protect erosion prone areas in the hill country and divert them towards productive cultivation has been launched by the Sri Lanka Hadabima Authority (SLHA) in line with the Government’s national programme being implemented to promote indigenous food crops.

The project implemented on the directive of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena plans to preserve and develop the lands in the hilly slopes which have been subjected to soil erosion by utilising such lands for productive cultivation, a Ministry spokesman told the Daily News.

The project has been introduced as the “Environmental protection and recreation project to minimise soil erosion in the hill country.”

The SLHA has allocated Rs.6 million to implement the project.

The SLHA in collaboration with Disaster Management Ministry has implemented the project. The Disaster Management Ministry has also granted Rs.6 million for the project.

Under the project, several land areas in the hill country such as Hanguranketha, Walapane, Ududumbara which are facing land slide threats will be developed. Nearly 750 farmers in these areas have extended their contribution towards the project, the spokesman said.