Gampaha District surpasses development targets

Walter Liyanarachchi and Gampaha Corr. Nimal Jayasinghe

Gampaha district is considered to be one of the districts developing fast in Sri Lanka. This agro-based district has proved that its agricultural development activities had expanded to a greater extent, especially in paddy cultivation sector.

Following the Mahinda Chintana the Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, Chairman of the Western Provincial Council Sunil Wijeratne, various other Members in the Provincial council; and Members of the Parliament had performed a massive service to keep up the paddy cultivation by providing necessary facilities to the farmer community.

The latest issue of the Mahinda Chintana states : “Paddy cultivation is not just a ‘job’ for our farmer; it is his very life. His entire culture, thoughts and aspirations, customs and manners entertainment and leisure are all based on rice farming.

I am extremely pleased that I was able to raise the level of profit that the farmer got for his efforts by ensuring a guaranteed price of Rs. 28-30 for a kilogram of paddy (which he was not able to sell for even Rs. 13-14 before) and by reducing his costs of production.........”

Gampaha is constituted with five villages and Gampaha is an area full of beauty, a fountain of many historical accounts, an area that was renowned in the ancient times of Kings. Gampaha District is consisted of. 1386.7 sq. km and is administered under 13 Divisional Development Secretariat Divisions is a very important district in the country.

There are 1177 Grama Niladhari Divisions covering 1810 villages in the District. There are 2,152,000 persons living in the 13 Divisional Development Secretariat Divisions in Divulapitiya, Katana, Negombo, Minuwangoda, Mirigama, Attanagalle, Gampaha, Je-Ela, Wattala, Mahara, Dompe, Biyagama, and Gampaha.

The attractive coastal belt that focuses much attention of the foreign visitors, among the 3 districts of the Western Province is situated in the Gampaha District.

The coastal belt of Negombo, which is also renowned as Little Rome, takes a prime position. There are 490,013 families living in the district. Divulapitiya Divisional Development Secretariat Division has the largest land area in the district.

It is 14.6% of land in the district. 56.2% of the land in the district is covered by Home Gardens, Buildings, Reservoirs, barren land, and forests. Majority of the 756,186 employed persons in the district are engaged in employment related to the agro-based industries and industrial sector.

They account for 260,565 persons. owning small grocery shops and having vehicle repair garages have also become the main employment of people in the district. Gampaha is also a district rich in mineral resources. Throughout the district there are deposits of sand, granite, clay, graphite, and other similar products.

For the benefit of the community Gampaha district benefits largely from the programmes implemented by the government during the last 4 years for the development of the country.

Accordingly the government implemented many projects in the district, in the spheres of road development, agriculture, education, water supply, housing, health, electricity, fishery, community development, tourist promotion, urban development, and provision of good governance.

During the period from 2006 - 2009 the government implemented 16,059 projects in the aforementioned spheres within the district. The amount spent on these projects was Rs. 22,601.8 Million. Road development Since road development is a basic requirement of a developing nation, the government has spent a massive sum for development of roads in the Gampaha District.

In this regard the government expended Rs. 10,826.50 million for development of roads in the district under 189 projects during the last four years.

Accordingly the government, under the decentralized budget, Gama Neguma scheme, and Maga Neguma scheme spent Rs. 1,291.7 million for 27 projects in the year 2006, Rs. 2,334.8 million for 93 projects in 2007, Rs. 2,268 million for 51 projects in 2008 and Rs. 4,932 million for 18 projects in the year 2009.

In this manner to uplift the facilities in the district the government constructed new roads and renovated the existing roads in the district. The government implemented 7458 projects for development rural roads in the district at a cost of Rs. 2,000.50 million.

For development of rural roads the government spent Rs. 307.7 million for 945 projects in the year 2006, Rs. 538.7 million for 1665 projects in 2007, Rs. 1,331.6 million for 2327 projects in 2008 and Rs. 822.5 million for 2521 projects in the year 2009. As a result of these development work most of the muddy and sandy roads in the districts have been replaced with concrete roads.

Welfare of the Farmers With the objective of helping the farming community in the district the government has renovated a number of irrigation schemes during the last four years. The government renovated 703 irrigation projects during this period at a cost of Rs. 208.33 million.

Accordingly the government spent Rs. 54.2 million for 94 projects in the year 2006, Rs. 38.7 million for 72 projects in 2007, Rs. 62.1 million for 112 projects in 2008 and Rs. 53.33 million for 425 projects in the year 2009. The government expended these funds for the welfare of all living in the district.

Similar to irrigation, for the development of the agricultural sector also, the government spent Rs. 432.8 million on 480 projects during the last 4 years.

Accordingly the government provided funds to implement 118 agricultural development projects at a cost of Rs. 173.7 million in the year 2006, 89 projects at a cost of Rs. 54.1 million in 2007, 104 projects at a cost of Rs. 83.0 million in 2008 and 169 projects at a cost of Rs. 122 million in the year 2009. Educational development. It is no secret that an enlightened and responsible society can be built through education. Even the Mahinda Chintanaya has emphasized this fact.

The government implemented numerous projects throughout the island during the last four years with this objective in mind. Centering Gampaha District, the government implemented 853 projects at a cost of Rs. 788.2 million for upliftment of educational facilities during the last four years.

The government spent Rs. 247 million for 192 projects in the year 2006, Rs. 231.5 million for 154 projects in 2007, Rs. 277 million for 63 projects in 2008 and Rs. 32.7 million for 174 projects in the year 2009, for educational upliftment in the district during the last 4 years.

Provision of drinking water Provision of adequate water to meet people’s requirements helps to create a healthy society. Under the Government’s forward thinking vision, provision of adequate water supply takes a prime place. During the last 4 years the government implemented 273 water supply schemes at a cost of R. 1,221.7 million to meet this basic need of the people in the Gampaha district.

The government spent Rs. 317.7 million for 77 water supply projects in the year 2006, Rs. 640.3 million for 100 projects in 2007, Rs. 251.1 million for 60 projects in 2008 and Rs. 12.6 million for 36 projects in the year 2009 in this regard.

Owning a house for oneself is not a dream anymore Owning a house for oneself is a dream of everyone. To help realize this aspiration the government implemented many housing projects throughout the country during the last four years in the midst of a horrendous war and the people in the Gampaha district too benefited from this exercise. 86 housing projects were implemented in the district at a cost of Rs. 715.9 million.

This huge programme commenced in the year 2006 with a massive expenditure amounting to Rs. 640.3 million.

Additionally, the government spent Rs. 19.5 million for 24 projects in the year 2007, Rs. 44.6 million for 16 projects in 2008, and Rs. 11.5 million for 14 projects in the year 2009, and the housing units built were handed over to the deserving populace.

A healthy livingIt is the government’s objective to build a healthy nation through development of health facilities. With this objective the government implemented 303 health development projects throughout the Gampaha district during the last 4 years, at a cost of Rs. 844.7 million. 79 such projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 170.4 million, 123 projects at a cost of Rs. 358.9 million in 2007, 20 projects at a cost of Rs. 261.4 million in 2008 and 81 projects at a cost of Rs. 54.0 million in the year 2009. Provision of electricity Mahinda Rajapakse administration during the last four years proved that it has a vision far exceeding all other governments in the past together on the subject of making this country self sufficient in electricity. Similar to all other districts, the Gampaha district too benefited from this visionary objective.

The government spent Rs. 143.65 million on 561 electricity projects in the Gampaha district during the last 4 years.This includes Rs. 27.5 million spent for 159 projects in 2006, Rs. 30.7 million for 138 projects in 2007, Rs. 75.3 Million for 208 projects in 2008 and Rs. 10.15 million for 56 projects in the year 2009.

Reawakening of the Fishery SectorThe government implemented 151 projects at a cost of Rs. 390.5 Million for assisting the populace depending on fishery industry the beautiful coastal belt covering Katana, Negombo, Ja-Ela, Wattala, and for the people depending on fishery related activities in the banks of Kelani River and various water-clogged areas throughout the district.

Negombo Harbour52 Fishery development projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs.78.6 million, 242 projects at a cost of Rs. 21.21 million in 2007, 1232 projects at a cost of Rs. 720.5 million in 2008 and 1177 projects at a cost of Rs. 475.9 million were implemented in the year 2009.

Welfare Activities Prevalence of welfare activities on a higher standard is the sign of a nation marching on development. Lacuna in this field is a problem faced by this country for several years. In order to overcome this deficiency the government spent an enormous amount during the last 4 years.

In this regard the government spent Rs. 528.87 million during the last 4 years to implement 1296 projects in the Gampaha District. 241 welfare projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 70 million, 503 projects at a cost of Rs. 101.6 million in 2007, 185 projects at a cost of Rs. 202.9 million in 2008 and 367 projects at a cost of Rs. 54.37 million in the year 2009.Tourist IndustryThe amount spent by the government for uplifting the tourist industry in the Gampaha District during the last 4 years amounted to Rs. 886.3 million. This amount was spent for implementation of 235 projects. 64 tourist development projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 249.7 million, 48 projects at a cost of Rs. 104.5 million in 2007, 67 projects at a cost of Rs. 513.6 million in 2008 and 56 projects at a cost of Rs. 18.5 million in the year 2009Urban DevelopmentIn order to undertake infrastructure development of the district centred with the 13 Divisional Development Secretariat Divisions, the government

spent Rs. 44.75 million and implemented 1009 projects throughout the Gampaha District during the last 4 years. Accordingly, 286 such projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 155.2 million, 169 projects at a cost of Rs. 116.5 million in 2007, 299 projects at a cost of Rs. 111.25 million in 2008 and 273 projects at a cost of Rs. 58.8 million in the year 2009Improvement of Government Service For improvement of government services in the district, the government implemented 29 projects during the last 4 years and the expenditure incurred in this regard amounted to Rs. 243.2 Million.12such projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 18.4 million, 7 projects at a cost of Rs. 20.6 million in 2007, 3 projects at a cost of Rs. 91.7 million in 2008 and 7 projects at a cost of Rs. 112.5 million in the year 2009Overall Development For overall development of roads, rural roads, irrigation, agriculture, education, water supply, housing, electricity supply, fishery industry, upgrading welfare activities, raising economic standards, tourist industry, and improving government services the government incurred a massive expenditure in the Gampaha district, during the last 4 years.

Accordingly, 2430 projects were implemented in the year 2006 at a cost of Rs. 3,937.4 million, 3464 projects at a cost of Rs. 4,935.8 million in 2007, 4776 projects at a cost of Rs. 6,896.05 million in 2008 and 5489 projects at a cost of Rs. 6,832.55 million in the year 2009.

As a result of the aforementioned development carried out during the last 4 years, the Gampaha District has achieved an unprecented progress in development. Undoubtedly, the people of the Gampaha District with express their gratitude to the President in his bid for re-election because of the immense services done to them.