Suspension of Rs. 2,600 million project to Kalmunai; The information revealed by RTI

Rifthi Ali 

The Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government has suspended all projects in Kalmunai under the ‘Sustainable Development Plan for Secondary Cities’ project with a loan of Rs. 2,600 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

It is noteworthy that this matter came to light through the Right to Information Act. 

Asian Development Bank has given 1,900 million rupees loan to implement  ‘Sustainable Development Plan for Secondary Cities’ project. This was stated by MP H.M.M. Haris, on 19.01.2018 when he was the President of Kalmunai Development Committee. 

The project includes development of city center stations, transport management, urban drainage project, solid waste management, polishing of public buildings and markets, construction of infrastructure to improve tourism, development of roads and bridges under local councils and infrastructure of residential and industrial areas and drainage further he added. 

Meanwhile, Kalmunai Mayor AM Ragib said at a press conference held at Mawadipalli on 14.08.2020 that “2,600 million rupees has been allocated to the Kalmunai Municipal Council under this project and a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the approval of the Cabinet”.

The Kalmunai mayor said the four-year project was started three months ago. 

During the last parliamentary election campaign in 2020, this project was seen as a main topic on the election platforms. 

The Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government has announced that the project has been suspended due to this situation. 

It is noteworthy that this matter came to light through the RTI application made to the Kalmunai Municipal Council in regard to this project.

The Ministry has decided to suspend the project due to the current financial situation in the country and the difficulty in obtaining a loan from the Asian Development Bank. 

In this connection, the Local Government Commissioner of the Eastern Province, Mr. N. Manivannan has been notified by the Ministry on 25.09.2020. 

The Kalmunai Municipal Council Commissioner has been informed by the Local Government Commissioner of the Eastern Province on 07.10.2020 regarding the suspension of the project.

It is noteworthy that 25 local councils in the country, including the Batticaloa Municipal Council and the Kinniya Urban Council, were selected for the project.