- Urban Development & Housing Min., UDA & SLLDC to provide tech assistance as majority building owners agreeable to relocate
The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has issued notices to the owners of buildings which block waterways within the Colombo Municipality in order to remove the respective buildings from the particular areas, said the Colombo Municipal Commissioner Bhadranie Jayawardhana.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (17), Jayawardhana said that the majority of the owners of those constructions have expressed their willingness to relocate the buildings accordingly and that therefore, future actions will be taken by the CMC with the assistance of the relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing to proceed with the relocation of those buildings.
She also noted that natural reasons such as frequent high showers and natural waterways like canals and rivers that flow through the Colombo City have affected the frequent floods while the constructions that block those waterways have been a catalyst promoting these circumstances.
“This decision was not made at once. It was taken after several studies. As we know, there are several canals and lakes and a major river flowing through the Colombo Municipality. In addition to that, we expect high showers from time to time. Therefore, it is necessary to make the water flow clear. We have issued notices regarding the constructions which block the water flow and many people have expressed their agreement with this move,” she added.
She said that apart from the Urban Development and Housing Ministry and the Urban Development Authority (UDA), the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) provides its technical support in this exercise while the CMC is making every possible effort to minimise the damage that could happen to the owners of those constructions and their dwellers. “When it comes to constructions like houses, we seek assistance from the relevant authorities such as the UDA in relocating those places,” she said.