• The plight of Kurunegala residents whose houses were damaged during the 2nd phase of the expressway’s construction continues in a form of developmental hell sans a just solution  

It is almost impossible or difficult for most people to meet their daily needs, including food, in the prevailing economic crisis. Expectations like buying land or building houses have become mere dreams. In such a situation, how unfortunate would it be for someone if living in their houses – built after years of hard work – is like lying on a deathbed? 

The story of a group of residents in the Kurunegala area who have had to live with the risk of their houses being destroyed due to the Central Expressway is a prime example of this. The project launched to ease people’s lives has dragged these residents into a difficult battle to save their lives instead.

With the internal conflicts in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka coming to an end, the then-Government recognised the importance of the construction of an expressway bridging the northern and southern parts. It was under that programme that the Government decided to construct the Northern Expressway from Colombo to Dambulla, including an expressway link to Kandy, as a part of the proposed expressway network. 

The Central Expressway is a combination of selected segments of two previously proposed expressways. It consists of four stages; stage one from Kadawatha to Meerigama, stage two from Meerigama to Kurunegala and the Ambepussa link road, stage three from Pothuhera to Galagedara (Kandy), and stage four from Kurunegala to Dambulla.

Serious structural damage

More than 400 residents near the second phase of the Central Expressway recently claimed that their lives were in grave danger due to the damage caused to their houses during the construction of the second phase of the expressway from Meerigama to Kurunegala, and sought immediate relief from the Government. They charged that the relevant standards had not been followed during the construction, and that the same had resulted in their houses, which they said were located within a distance of about 300 metres from the expressway, being damaged.

The construction of the second phase of the Expressway has been carried out by Maga Engineering (Private) Limited under the supervision of the Road Development Authority (RDA). Residents living nearby allege that their houses have been damaged due to the contractor not following proper standards during the construction, and that the relevant parties, particularly Maga Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd., have failed to provide the residents with adequate compensation. According to them, more than 650 houses have been damaged in the area, but only 220 of them have been compensated as of now.

The house of K.A. Srimathi, a resident of the Ambalampitiya area in Gettuwana, has largely been damaged due to the construction of the expressway, making her and the other residents’ lives unsafe. Speaking to The Daily Morning, she said that all the parts of the house such as the walls, floor, doors, windows, and roof have been severely damaged, and that no amount has been received as compensation in the backdrop of needing a lot of money to restore them. 

"Not even a small part of my land was taken over for this project, but these contractors used bores for four years to get granite from a nearby land. We told them not to use bores and to use chemicals instead, but they didn't listen to any of us.” 

She further said that the contractor was ready to pay her only Rs. 181,000 as compensation, even though every part of her house was heavily damaged. “At first, I was told by the Maga Engineering officials that my house would be restored, but in the end, they were going to pay only Rs. 181,000 as compensation. How many cement bags can I buy with that money in this situation? So I didn't take it. I can’t even repair a wall of my house with that money.”

Further consequences

In addition to the damage caused to hundreds of houses, residents allege that the construction of the expressway has also caused significant environmental damage. They said that nearly 40 wells, which provided water for drinking and other needs for the people of the area, are no longer available. Apart from it, they alleged that many lands with valuable plants and trees have been lost.

They further claimed that during the construction of the Expressway, the relevant contractor sold many things such as sand, soil, granite, and wood from the land in the area to various parties and earned a significant income in addition to the payments made to them (the contractor) by the Government.

The house of Nayana Jayasinghe, a resident of Thalkote in Kurunegala, is also among the damaged houses. According to her, many parts including the walls, floors, windows, and doors have been damaged in the house which was built about 10 years ago, yet she has received only Rs. 10,000 as compensation. 

“This is almost sinking down. All the walls have cracked. The officials who came to estimate the damage to the house took photos of only one of the damaged areas. According to that estimate, they paid us Rs. 10,000. It is not enough to repair a single damage.”

If any resident whose houses are damaged due to the construction of the Expressway does not agree with the compensation sum offered by the contractor, the then-Secretary to the Transport and Highways Ministry, M.M.P.K. Mayadunne said last month (December 2023) that a damage assessment of such houses would be conducted by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO). 

According to Mayadunne, if the compensation demanded by a certain resident does not match with what is offered by the contractor, those damages would be reassessed by the NBRO, and the residents would have to accept the organisation’s decision. However, both Jayasinghe and Srimathi said that they were not aware of such a reassessment by the NBRO.

No such re-evaluation has apparently been done by the authorities, but a team from the Ruhuna University’s Faculty of Engineering has visited the area and inspected 28 damaged houses. Among them, six have been identified as high-risk houses. The team has informed the concerned residents that living in those houses is very dangerous. However, in the current economic situation, the residents claim that it is not possible for them to buy another house or to rent one, so they are staying in the damaged houses despite the risk to their lives.

Another person whose house was damaged, Sanjeewa Kulathilaka, said that they had submitted their grievances to a number of institutions – such as the Transport and Highways Ministry, the Police, the RDA, and Maga Engineering – seeking justice, but that there is no sign of a fair solution. “In the implementation of a project of this sort, the relevant contractor must pay compensation for damages. The RDA does not make the full payment to them until the compensation is completed. 

“The then Ministry Secretary Mayadunne ordered the Chief Financial Officer of the RDA not to make the relevant payments to Maga Engineering until they finalised the payment of compensation. As far as we have come to know, they are withholding Rs. 4-5 billion, but we have not received the relevant compensation yet. If those payments are delayed continuously, the damages to our houses will become irreparable,” he added.

A shortfall of justice

The struggle of this group demanding adequate compensation for their damaged houses reached a climax recently when they organised a peaceful protest near the Central Expressway entrance in Gettuwana on 27 December 2023. The Police prevented them from holding the protest and five of the residents including Jayasinghe were arrested by the Police, and later released by the respective magistrate’s court. 

Jayasinghe said: “We have filed more than 100 complaints with the Kurunegala Police about the injustice that happened to us. Each person who owns the damaged houses filed a complaint with the Police. None of those complaints have been investigated by the Police. Despite that, they did not allow us to hold our peaceful protest, and instead arrested us. How unfair is this? When we go to them and ask for justice, they turn a blind eye. When we take another action, they obstruct us. From whom should we expect justice?”

Attempts to contact the Transport and Highways Ministry Secretary, engineer Ranjith Rubasinghe, the Ministry’s Additional Secretary Development Chandrani Samarakoon, RDA Chairman C.P. Athuluwage, and RDA Director General L.V.S. Weerakoon proved futile.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, an official of Maga Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd., who did not reveal his name, said that the compensation payments are made by the relevant insurance company. “This is a long process. When a project is implemented, the properties that might be damaged are inspected, and compensation is decided. In this case too, such inspections have been done and compensation is being made. However, there is no possibility of paying compensation beyond the initial assessments.”

Late last year, Mayadunne had appointed a committee consisting of ministry officials to look into the matter, and submit a report with appropriate recommendations. The committee members had been directed to visit the area, and record statements from the residents whose houses have been damaged. 

Considering the recommendations made by the said committee, the Ministry had informed the contractor to finalise the payment of previously agreed compensation to the relevant residents before 31 December 2023. However, the grievances of the residents reflect that they have not yet received the kind of fair solution that they are hoping for. 

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the authorities to heed their calls and provide a just solution, without turning a project launched for the benefit of the people into one that adds a dark chapter to the lives of a section of the same people.