District's poverty level reduced:

Kegalle to be developed under Gama Neguma

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa will allocate Rs. 573 million for developing 573 Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Kegalle District, with Rs. One million for each village.

It will benefit 818,000 members of 211,000 families in 1,677 villages in the district comprising 11 Secretariat Divisions belonging to Dedigama, Galigamuwa, Aranayaka, Kegalle, Rambukkana, Ruwanwella, Deraniyagala, Mavanella and Yatiyantota nine electorates.

The total amount the government allocated in 2011 for the Kegalle District was Rs. 8,201 million. Of this amount Rs. 1,564 is from the Economic Development Ministry funds.

The poverty level percentage per household in the district was 16.6 percent, which came down to 10.8 percent last year. The number of families there receiving Samurdhi benefits is 75,554.

These facts were revealed at a meeting held at the Divisional Secretariat, Kegalle on February 12 in connection with the 'One-Task-for One-Village' programme presided over by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has allocated the funds to the Economic Development Minister under the 2012 Budget to be spent on the 'One-Task-for-One-Village' programme of Gama Neguma in accordance with the Mahinda Chinthana vision.

Projects for this purpose will be selected as proposed by the rural political leadership and people's organizations.

The projects will cover minor irrigation channels, drinking water supply, village roads, extension of rural electricity, development of school facilities including provision of toilets, pre-schools, development of dhamma schools, health clinics, maternal clinics, development of children's playgrounds and other playgrounds, buildings for stalls, small shops and weekly fairs, developing service centres for small industries and traditional industries, co-operative development, modernizing paddy and fertilizer storage facilities, environmental protection and forest conservation and developing public cemeteries.

These development schemes will also result in the improvement of places of tourist interest in the district such as the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, Kithulgala and waterfalls including Esupini falls and archaeological sites like the Dedimunda Devale.

This development will increase tourism industry's contribution to the district's gross domestic production by seven percent. Consequently it will also improve the living conditions of nearly a thousand families engaged in the areas small industries-kitul treacle production and clay industry.

Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister Maheepala Herath, Kegalle District Secretary Thusitha Wanigasinghe, Parliamentarians representing all electorates in the Kegalle District, Members of Provincial Councils and Local Government Bodies and Senior Government Officials representing various State sectors also attended the event.

Senior Ministers Athauda Seneviratne, Prof Tissa Vitarana, Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Dr. Jagath Balasuriya, Deputy Ministers Lalith Dissanayake, HR Mithrapala, Parliament MPs Kanaka Herath, YG Patmasiri and many others participated in the meeting.