Reconstruction and resettlement in the Northern
Province:
The Big Momentum - Part III
[Continued from December 26]
Altogether, there were 1,020 schools
in the 12 educational zones in the Northern Province. By
May 2009, most of the schools except in locations like
Jaffna, Manner and Vavuniya Town were damaged. Many of
the school buildings were without roofs. Since 2009,
1,630 school buildings have been repaired by the GoSL at
a total cost of Rs. 1,341 mn. Presently, 990 schools are
functioning and all the children are provided with
school facilities.
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S B Divaratne |
At present, there are 13,963 teachers
working in the Northern Province catering to 260.582
student population in the area.
Construction of permanent houses were
arranged using owner-driven methodology to ensure
beneficiary participation and quality. A total of 78,144
permanent houses are scheduled to be completed out of
which 27,983 houses have already been completed. Through
the North East Housing Rehabilitation Programme (NEHRP)
the GoSL has constructed nearly 22,635 houses. A major
programme under this project was funded by the
government of India through which 38,000 houses are
planned to be constructed in the Northern Province.
Already, 1,000 houses have been completed. In addition,
UN-HABITAT, European Union and the Sri Lanka Red Cross
have made significant contributions for construction of
permanent houses.
Rehabilitation of Road and Railway
The GoSL made substantive investment
to improve connectivity. All major highways are being
rehabilitated. Those include major roads, provincial
roads and rural roads. The total investment for road
sector is Rs. 75,071mn. The number of motor vehicles
registered for the province has increased from 47,031 in
2009 to 62,644 in 2011. Three major bridges that were
destroyed by the LTTE during the war i.e., Mannar
Bridge, Sangupiddly Bridge, and Aruvi Aru bridge have
been reconstructed with a massive investment by the
government. In addition, rehabilitation of the Northern
railway network has begun with a US $ 650mn loan under
assistance from government of India.
The GoSL, accorded high priority for
restoration of water and sanitation sector. Already, Rs.
29.9bn has been invested to improve water and sanitation
in the whole of the Northern Province. A major water
supply and sanitation project to relieve the water
problem in Jaffna is underway at a cost of Rs. 25bn.
This project will provide water facility to Kilinochchi
as well.
Restoration of electricity
Consequent to the liberation of the
Vanni District, restoration of electricity services and
electrification was considered a top priority. At
present, 9 mega projects are in operation with an
investment of Rs. 13.2bn. This includes transmission,
augmentation and rehabilitation of electricity network
in the Province. Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts
have been supplied with electricity after a span of 30
years. Electrification of these two districts was 29
percent and 23 percent respectively. The revenue from
electricity supply has risen from Rs. 1,644mn in 2009 to
Rs. 2,182mn in 2010. Number of consumer accounts has
risen from 132,331 in 2009 to 142,611 in 2011. the total
investment for ongoing projects funded by JICA, ADB and
the Ceylon Electricity Board amount to Rs. 13.6bn. This
includes Vavuniya, Kililnochchi Transmission line,
Kilinochchi Chunnakam Transmission line and also
augmentation of Vavuniya Grid Station.
Revival of agriculture
Agriculture is the most vital economic
sector providing basic food security and a source of
livelihood for 80 percent of the population in the
Province. The revival of agriculture commenced with
restoration of the entire irrigation network, clearing
of abandoned paddy lands, supply of imputes and
agricultural machinery. A considerable investment was
made on revival of agriculture sector thereby bringing
90 percent of the 180,000 acres of abandoned paddy lands
under cultivation. Every resettled family was given seed
paddy and subsidized fertilizer for all the agricultural
seasons commencing 2009. Initially, 99,173 acres were
brought under paddy cultivation during 2009 - 2010 Maha
with a production of 143,579 metric tons. The extent of
land utilized for agriculture increased to 193,202 acres
in 2010 - 2011. A production of 212,722 metric tons of
paddy was recorded during this period. It is an amazing
performance indeed, just two years after resettlement.
Rehabilitation of irrigation
network
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Equal education
facilities for Northern children |
Northern Province is largely an
agricultural region in the dry zone of Sri Lanka having
both rain-fed and irrigation farming. There are over
2,000 irrigation tanks of major, medium and minor
categories in the Province. A concerted effort was made
to rehabilitate the irrigation network. There are about
189,000 acres of land under irrigated agriculture in the
Province consisting of schemes under central and
provincial administration and minor irrigation under the
Agrarian Services Development Department. A total
commitment of Rs. 6,333.9mn was made by the government
for rehabilitation of the entire irrigation network.
Fisheries sector
Fishery is the second most important
economic activity following agriculture in the Northern
Province. Almost one third of the coastal line is in the
Northern Province and the annual average production of
fish had been recorded at 75,000 metric tons. The
coastal fisheries have experienced widespread
destruction of production assets and serious damages to
the supporting infrastructure. The government assistance
under its 180-Day accelerated programme included
provision of fishing gear and other equipment for sea,
lagoon and inland fishing.
Reactivation of district fisheries
co-operatives facilitated the delivery of services for
the fishermen. Reconstruction of deteriorated
infrastructure was also considered a priority. Plans for
improvements to the fisheries sector include Inland
Fisheries and Aqua Culture. The Sri Lanka Army performed
a significant role in securing and repairing of boats
handed over to fishermen. A total fishing fleet has now
been increased to 11,225 as a result of these efforts.
The fish production in the Northern Province has risen
from 15,250 metric tons in 2007 to 48,520 metric tons in
year 2011 and the target of the Ministry of fisheries is
to increase production to harvest 78,000 metric tons in
year 2013. In year 2011, the contribution of the
Northern Province to the notational fish production is
11 percent compared to 5 percent in 2007. The Ministry
operates nearly 30 freezer trucks from Northern Province
to Colombo per day.
Banking sector
At present, 20 state and private banks
are operating in the Northern region. Nearly loans
amounting to Rs. 4,614mn have been granted to 36,000
beneficiaries under different credit lines implemented
by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka up to end of 2011.
Private investment
Private sector has already begun to
move to be emerging region of the North. There are 23
different projects approved by the Board of Investment (BOI)
for a total investment of Rs. 68,268.7mn. In addition
nine hotel projects with 328 rooms have been approved at
an investment of Rs. 2,217mn.
The movement of the private sector in
the Northern Region is a direct result of prevalence of
peace after 2009, which is the biggest incentive
provided by the government to the private sector.
Acknowledgement
The GoSL is determined to maintain the
impressive gains made in resettlement through confidence
building among the international community.
It continues to maintain the same
commitments with transparency and take forward the
positive records towards creating sustainability in the
process of re-building the Northern Province.
It is observed that the people in the
Northern Province are satisfied with the achievements of
the ongoing efforts for reconstruction.
The PTF is grateful to the President
for this extraordinary leadership and unwavering
commitment to rebuild the Northern Province. The
commitment of Basil Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Economic
Development and the Chairman of the PTF, in spearheading
rehabilitation, development and reconstruction
activities under his constant supervision and guidance
in fulfilling the enormous task of rebuilding the
Northern Province has been the hallmark of success. The
efforts of the PTF were adequately supported by the
Provincial Administration headed by Governor, Northern
Province and the respective line ministries. The timely
advice and cooperation extended by Lalith Weeratunga,
Secretary to the President contributed immensely for the
success of this programme. It was possible to achieve
significant progress, more particularly in
implementation of 180 Day Programme and the early
recovery phase of the resettled families through
relentless efforts and devotion of all District
Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries and the other
districts staff.
Contribution of the Sri Lanka Army in
the whole process of resettlement beginning from the
demining operations and coordinating humanitarians and
recovery efforts in all the districts has been a source
of strength in effectively implementing the resettlement
programme. The humanitarian assistance received from UN
Agencies and I/NGOs during humanitarian and early
recovery phase of resettlement also contributed to
strengthen the government's initiatives during the first
phase of resettlement.
The development made so far provided a
tremendous impetus for the private sector to move in and
that is the biggest contribution made by the government
for the private sector investment in the Province. The
PTF takes pride having steered the development momentum,
whilst coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders in
this national endeavour to rebuild the Northern
Province.
Courtesy : Daily News |
