COLOMBO – Sri Lanka plans to strengthen its Local Government Act to give it more power in dealing with unauthorized constructions, State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government Janaka Wakkambura said.
“Amendments will be made to the Local Government Act to prevent unauthorized construction,” Wakkambura said in a statement issued by the Department of Government Information, explaining that the amendments will remove existing barriers to taking immediate action to prevent unauthorized constructions.
Noting that illegal constructions take place even as government agencies are corresponding on how to deter them, he said by the time consensus is reached entire families are occupying the illegal dwellings, which makes eviction impossible.
The minister who was speaking at a program to launch online payments for local government bodies, including assessment taxes, in the Akurana local council, cited the situation in Akurana as a case in point, he said one had to only look at how often the town got submerged after rains to see where the fault lies.
Sri Lanka has seen unusually heavy rains this year and resultant flooding. Critics have pointed out that the filling of wetlands and unauthorized construction were partly to blame for the catastrophe.
A significant number of illegal constructions belong to politically powerful individuals directly or indirectly connected to local authorities.
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