Land for Moragahakanda displaced

Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The Mahaweli Authority has made arrangements to provide one and half acres of paddy land and half an acre of high land for each family who will be deprived of their lands due to construction of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga project.

Meanwhile, the Government through the Mahaweli Authority will grant compensation to all the families in lieu of properties lost as a result of the construction of this mega irrigation scheme which has been estimated at a cost of 617 million US Dollars, Director General of the Mahaweli Authority Ivan de Silva told a media briefing yesterday.

It has been estimated that a sum of Rs.3100 million will be spent to pay compensation to the affected families by the commissioning of this project. All compensation will be based on the current market value of the lands while a substantial sum will also be paid to each family to rebuild their houses. All compensation will be paid in terms of the circular issued by the Land Ministry on August 2007, he said.

Commenting on the recent demonstration launched by some villagers in Laggala, Pallegama who will be affected by the project,the Director General said in a situation where the Mahaweli Authority has taken all possible measures to sort out their problems, a question has arisen as why a certain section of these villagers organised this demonstration. “ Before they conducted this protest, I had informed them that I will conduct a discussion with them on January 6 to discuss their problems.”

Meanwhile, the Organisation to Protect the Rights of the People of Laggala has also submitted a memorandum to the President on December 29 outlining 15 demands. Except for two demands, the Mahaweli Authority has already taken into consideration of all other demands. The Mahaweli Authority has to consult several relevant authorities to sort out a few demands put forward by this organisation, he said.

Arrangements have been made to resettle the families who come under this project area in the left and right banks of the Kalu Ganga in the Matale district. If certain families are willing to resettle in the Medirigiriya area, the Mahaweli Authority will consider their requests too.

At present the Mahaweli Authority is in the process of formulating this resettlement plan in accordance with the National Involuntary Resettlement Policy (NIRP). “ I wish to state that this type of sound resettlement policy has not been introduced so far. The Mahaweli Authority which has resettled over 128000 families under various irrigation schemes has a vast experience on these resettlement activities, he said.

According to De Silva people are paid only compensation when other development projects are implemented in the country. However, the Mahaweli Authority implements a project to develop the agriculture sector. Therefore the Authority provides both paddy lands and high lands to each affected families rather than granting them only compensation. But when the lands are reserved for each family, the Authority has to consider the total extent of the lands available in that particular area.

Under the Kalu Ganga project 880 hectares of lands belonging to 631 families will be submerged while 1572 families will lose their 4100 acres due to the commencement of the Moragahakanda project. All these families will be paid compensation based on the market value of the lands, he added.