By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The earmarking of prime slices of the Colombo city for mixed development projects by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has raised a number of concerns among the public, as they questioned the ownership and utilisation of those highly valuable properties.
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"We are planning to implement new development projects around the country as applicable while developing the Colombo city in parallel with the Colombo Port City State" Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Community Cleanliness Dr. Nalaka Godahewa [/caption]
Despite the UDA’s objective being identified as an attempt to develop the entire city, many criticised its adamant approach when acquiring the properties. The most recent example of this was the Muttiah Road Hostel for Women and Differently Abled Students owned by the Colombo University.
Additionally, the acquiring of the lands and buildings owned by the Otter Aquatic Club, 80 Club, and Pettah Manning Market are among the recent controversial acquisitions conducted by the UDA.
80 Club
80 Club at Independence Avenue, Colombo 7 was recently acquired by the UDA with effect from 12 November, for violating several conditions including non-payment of lease arrears.
It was later revealed that the UDA had already presented a cabinet paper to take over the property for development work.
As it is reported, a message to members of the Executive Committee of 80 Club stated that the Divisional Secretary of Thimbirigasyaya has, on the authority of the Government, taken over possession of the land and building of 80 Club on 12 November 2020.
Accordingly, it is said that a comprehensive refurbishment and restoration of the club premises is planned by the UDA jointly with Waters Edge.
Otter Aquatic Club
Meanwhile, several months ago, the Otter Aquatic Club, a leading Colombo 7 sports club, was also taken over by the UDA to be developed in parallel with Waters Edge.
As revealed to The Sunday Morning, the UDA is to operate the club without hindering the privileges of its near 5,000 members.
According to UDA Director General (DG) Prasad Ranaweera, there are over 5,000 members and the club has not paid taxes since 2005, there were no infrastructure facilities developed during the past decade, and only around 100 members were visiting the place on a daily basis.
Therefore, the UDA has taken over the club premises and will operate it together with Waters Edge.
However, he assured that the privileges enjoyed by the club members would not be affected.
The sports club was established in 1933 and has more than 5,000 members, among which 3,000 pay annual membership fees.
Pettah Manning Market
The two-acre land in the heart of Colombo, where the Manning Market is located, has also been earmarked for development projects with the opening of the newly built Peliyagoda Manning Market at a cost of around Rs. 6.5 billion.
The new Manning Market features 1,192 shops, a large parking lot for 600 vehicles, restrooms for staff, medical facilities, banks, restaurants, cold rooms, hotels, and much more.
The Manning Market, which was limited to two acres in Pettah, has been converted into a fully fledged wholesale market spread over 13.5 acres.
Preliminary plans were made to relocate the Colombo vegetable wholesale market to Peliyagoda at the same time the fish wholesale market was being shifted to Peliyagoda in 2013.
The UDA has already drafted plans for the development of the Pettah Manning Market land in parallel to the construction of the Colombo Port City.
There had been protests against the shifting of the Manning Market since the plans were made public.
Muttiah Road Hostel
The acquiring of prime lands located in Colombo 7 has been continued without any major opposition erupting from the public, yet the decision to take over the two-acre land owned by the Colombo University gained much attention, as the university lecturers began a fresh battle with the UDA to save the Muttiah Road Hostel for Women and Differently Abled Students.
The UDA had decided to take over the 2.5-acre land where the Muttiah Road Hostel is located, to carry out development activities.
The Muttiah Road Hostel is one of the eight permanent hostels of the University of Colombo, housing more than 550 female students including differently abled students – a majority of whom are from the Faculty of Arts.
The Arts Faculty Teachers’ Association – Colombo University (AFTACU), the official trade union of the Faculty of Arts, wrote to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa urging him to reconsider the decision to immediately seize the said property.
They stressed that the decision comes to the university as a surprise, as no other hostel facility has been provided and the relevant student and staff bodies have not been duly consulted in the process.
“As a union concerned with ensuring access to education and safeguarding the state education, we have serious concerns regarding this decision which has been taken without providing another hostel facility at a time when the on-site functions of the university are on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the letter stated.
The Teachers’ Association had stressed that the hostel is situated at a convenient location, has the capacity to accommodate a large number of students, is in close proximity to its faculty, and the safety of the locale make it an ideal place of residence for students.
The hostel had also been recently renovated by the University of Colombo to provide better access to differently abled students. The hostel facilities serve the neediest students from rural areas and are a vital resource that ensures their uninterrupted education.
Mega development projects
As learnt by The Sunday Morning, the UDA had already identified 48 new mega development projects in and around Colombo to be implemented next year.
UDA DG Ranaweera said the UDA received a large amount of land including on Kirimandala Mawatha, around Racecourse, and several other areas, and said the 48 projects would initially begin in these already identified land plots and would be expanded later on.
According to him, the total costs for the projects have not been finalised yet.
“We have completed the initial planning process for all these lands, and the detailed design would be completed soon and the construction would be launched next year,” Ranaweera added.
However, Cabinet approval was granted for a proposal submitted by the Prime Minister for the acquisition of 39 plots of land belonging to the State in terms of Section 6 (1) of the Land Ordinance by the UDA via an independent grant and the acquisition of five plots of private land in terms of the Land Acquisition Act.
Moving out of Colombo
Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, State Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Public Sanitation Dr. Nalaka Godahewa stressed that the Government’s aim was to spread the development to other parts of the country, including Gampaha, Kalutara, Anuradhapura, Kandy, and other main cities, without limiting the mega development projects to Colombo.
“We are planning to implement new development projects around the country as applicable while developing the Colombo city in parallel with the Colombo Port City,” he added.
Commenting on the Muttiah Road Hostel, the State Minister stressed that the Colombo University had requested to increase the hostel capacity and the capacity couldn’t be increased in the location where it is situated now.
Therefore, it is up to the university to decide whether they are going ahead with the hostel capacity increase. Other than that, there was no immediate development plan for the Muttiah Road land, Dr. Godahewa noted.
Furthermore, commenting on the development projects in Colombo, the State Minister stressed that the already planned development projects for Colombo included parking facilities to ease the present traffic congestion.
“Initially, we are focusing on car parks. Most of the developments are now coming out of Colombo. We are moving to areas where there are higher population districts and to see the possibilities of more development projects in these areas,” he stressed.
"We are planning to implement new development projects around the country as applicable while developing the Colombo city in parallel with the Colombo Port City State" Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Community Cleanliness Dr. Nalaka Godahewa [/caption]
Despite the UDA’s objective being identified as an attempt to develop the entire city, many criticised its adamant approach when acquiring the properties. The most recent example of this was the Muttiah Road Hostel for Women and Differently Abled Students owned by the Colombo University.
Additionally, the acquiring of the lands and buildings owned by the Otter Aquatic Club, 80 Club, and Pettah Manning Market are among the recent controversial acquisitions conducted by the UDA.
80 Club
80 Club at Independence Avenue, Colombo 7 was recently acquired by the UDA with effect from 12 November, for violating several conditions including non-payment of lease arrears.
It was later revealed that the UDA had already presented a cabinet paper to take over the property for development work.
As it is reported, a message to members of the Executive Committee of 80 Club stated that the Divisional Secretary of Thimbirigasyaya has, on the authority of the Government, taken over possession of the land and building of 80 Club on 12 November 2020.
Accordingly, it is said that a comprehensive refurbishment and restoration of the club premises is planned by the UDA jointly with Waters Edge.
Otter Aquatic Club
Meanwhile, several months ago, the Otter Aquatic Club, a leading Colombo 7 sports club, was also taken over by the UDA to be developed in parallel with Waters Edge.
As revealed to The Sunday Morning, the UDA is to operate the club without hindering the privileges of its near 5,000 members.
According to UDA Director General (DG) Prasad Ranaweera, there are over 5,000 members and the club has not paid taxes since 2005, there were no infrastructure facilities developed during the past decade, and only around 100 members were visiting the place on a daily basis.
Therefore, the UDA has taken over the club premises and will operate it together with Waters Edge.
However, he assured that the privileges enjoyed by the club members would not be affected.
The sports club was established in 1933 and has more than 5,000 members, among which 3,000 pay annual membership fees.
Pettah Manning Market
The two-acre land in the heart of Colombo, where the Manning Market is located, has also been earmarked for development projects with the opening of the newly built Peliyagoda Manning Market at a cost of around Rs. 6.5 billion.
The new Manning Market features 1,192 shops, a large parking lot for 600 vehicles, restrooms for staff, medical facilities, banks, restaurants, cold rooms, hotels, and much more.
The Manning Market, which was limited to two acres in Pettah, has been converted into a fully fledged wholesale market spread over 13.5 acres.
Preliminary plans were made to relocate the Colombo vegetable wholesale market to Peliyagoda at the same time the fish wholesale market was being shifted to Peliyagoda in 2013.
The UDA has already drafted plans for the development of the Pettah Manning Market land in parallel to the construction of the Colombo Port City.
There had been protests against the shifting of the Manning Market since the plans were made public.
Muttiah Road Hostel
The acquiring of prime lands located in Colombo 7 has been continued without any major opposition erupting from the public, yet the decision to take over the two-acre land owned by the Colombo University gained much attention, as the university lecturers began a fresh battle with the UDA to save the Muttiah Road Hostel for Women and Differently Abled Students.
The UDA had decided to take over the 2.5-acre land where the Muttiah Road Hostel is located, to carry out development activities.
The Muttiah Road Hostel is one of the eight permanent hostels of the University of Colombo, housing more than 550 female students including differently abled students – a majority of whom are from the Faculty of Arts.
The Arts Faculty Teachers’ Association – Colombo University (AFTACU), the official trade union of the Faculty of Arts, wrote to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa urging him to reconsider the decision to immediately seize the said property.
They stressed that the decision comes to the university as a surprise, as no other hostel facility has been provided and the relevant student and staff bodies have not been duly consulted in the process.
“As a union concerned with ensuring access to education and safeguarding the state education, we have serious concerns regarding this decision which has been taken without providing another hostel facility at a time when the on-site functions of the university are on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the letter stated.
The Teachers’ Association had stressed that the hostel is situated at a convenient location, has the capacity to accommodate a large number of students, is in close proximity to its faculty, and the safety of the locale make it an ideal place of residence for students.
The hostel had also been recently renovated by the University of Colombo to provide better access to differently abled students. The hostel facilities serve the neediest students from rural areas and are a vital resource that ensures their uninterrupted education.
Mega development projects
As learnt by The Sunday Morning, the UDA had already identified 48 new mega development projects in and around Colombo to be implemented next year.
UDA DG Ranaweera said the UDA received a large amount of land including on Kirimandala Mawatha, around Racecourse, and several other areas, and said the 48 projects would initially begin in these already identified land plots and would be expanded later on.
According to him, the total costs for the projects have not been finalised yet.
“We have completed the initial planning process for all these lands, and the detailed design would be completed soon and the construction would be launched next year,” Ranaweera added.
However, Cabinet approval was granted for a proposal submitted by the Prime Minister for the acquisition of 39 plots of land belonging to the State in terms of Section 6 (1) of the Land Ordinance by the UDA via an independent grant and the acquisition of five plots of private land in terms of the Land Acquisition Act.
Moving out of Colombo
Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, State Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Public Sanitation Dr. Nalaka Godahewa stressed that the Government’s aim was to spread the development to other parts of the country, including Gampaha, Kalutara, Anuradhapura, Kandy, and other main cities, without limiting the mega development projects to Colombo.
“We are planning to implement new development projects around the country as applicable while developing the Colombo city in parallel with the Colombo Port City,” he added.
Commenting on the Muttiah Road Hostel, the State Minister stressed that the Colombo University had requested to increase the hostel capacity and the capacity couldn’t be increased in the location where it is situated now.
Therefore, it is up to the university to decide whether they are going ahead with the hostel capacity increase. Other than that, there was no immediate development plan for the Muttiah Road land, Dr. Godahewa noted.
Furthermore, commenting on the development projects in Colombo, the State Minister stressed that the already planned development projects for Colombo included parking facilities to ease the present traffic congestion.
“Initially, we are focusing on car parks. Most of the developments are now coming out of Colombo. We are moving to areas where there are higher population districts and to see the possibilities of more development projects in these areas,” he stressed.