Deputy Minister of Irrigation Susil Ranasinghe revealed that politicians have constructed hotels with swimming pools within the reserved areas of 22 reservoirs in the Anuradhapura District.
He stated that the Department of Irrigation and the Department of Surveying have jointly decided to demarcate the reservations of these reservoirs. The deputy minister made these comments during the recent Anuradhapura District Coordination Committee meeting held at the North Central Provincial Council auditorium.
Ranasinghe further emphasised the need for an investigation and formal report on both legal and illegal settlers around the Nuwara Wewa (Nuwara Lake). He stressed the importance of properly surveying and marking the reserved areas of these lands.
Unlike in the past, he said the current demarcation work around the Nuwara Wewa would not involve placing boundary stones, but would instead use official irrigation department signage to identify the protected areas in Anuradhapura.
Director General of the North Central Provincial Commercial Authority, P.B. Dissanayake, also addressed the committee, stating that the official residence of the provincial minister, the Governor’s residence, and the Abhimansala rehabilitation centre, all built within the Nuwara Wewa should be removed first.
He noted that a massive operation is required to correct past mistakes and that, knowingly or unknowingly, officials too have been complicit in the illegal acts committed by politicians.
