Samurdhi Authority develops villages

Shirley WIJESINGHE

The Samurdhi Development Authority has spent over Rs. 1026 million to develop 3,060 villages in 317 Divisional Secretariat divisions throughout the country this year.

The project has been launched in line with the Gama Neguma master development drive stipulated in Mahinda Chinthana.

Areas focused are infrastructure facilities, livelihood and spiritual values of the Samurdhi beneficiary families.

Each Grama Seva Division will receive Rs.250,000 to support the families to start small scale projects in agriculture, animal husbandry, trade and industrial sectors.

Nation Building Ministry Media Director , Kapila Ariyawansa said, the Authority was able to achieve about 97.5 percent of its target on livelihood development of the villages spending Rs.560 million out of Rs. 574 million allocations for 2008.

Over 30,000 agriculture development projects have been implemented to encourage export oriented cultivations and home gardening last year, to cater to the nutritional standards of the families in the rural areas and mobilize them into national development drive, Ariyawansa said.

He added the Authority has paid special attention to provide advisory services and subject centered training to maintain the required productivity of the projects. Priority has been given to family based projects such as animal husbandry and fishery industry.

Over 9271 projects related to animal husbandry and fishery industry had been completed up to the first quarter of this year, he said.

Total number of projects completed during last year under the projects of rice processing and industries were over 11,200, he further said.