Compensation to displaced by Yan Oya project | Daily News

Compensation to displaced by Yan Oya project

When the Yan Oya reservoir project commenced, there was no proper plan in place. The selection of stakeholders was decided hastily and the enthusiasm, shown at the beginning of the project, dwindled later on, Irrigation, Water Resources and Disaster Management Minister Duminda Dissanayake said.

This caused delays in paying compensation to evacuated families, resettlement, providing alternative land for livelihoods etc., the minister said.

He was addressing the gathering following the laying of the foundation stone to set up the Kadjuwatta Seva Piyasa building to accommodate Grama Niladari, Samurdhi Niladari, Development Officer and the Agriculture Research and Production Assistant in Kadjuwatta new resettlement village, built under the Yan Oya reservoir project. The building costs Rs. 4 million.

The minister said under the short-sighted planning of the previous government, families who lost housing and property under the project were not counted when providing compensation and other relief.

Earlier, Cabinet approval was sought to pay compensation only for permanent families and this is not at all justifiable. He said to correct this lapse, a new Cabinet paper was submitted to obtain approval for compensation to be paid to 100 families.

Referring to discrepancies in the manner of paying compensation, Minister Dissanayake said those who should be given priority must be reconsidered.

He said, however, already a batch of 120 families have been paid compensation worth Rs. 125 million.

He said he would accelerate the payment of compensation for lost property to those who were deprived of it.

“There are new settlement villages emerging under the Yan Oya reservoir project which is to be commissioned soon. Each new village would be equipped with a Seva Piyasa community centre, pre-school, school, water supply scheme, sanitation, access roads, and a protective electric fence to thwart wild elephants from invading new settlements. The minister said the construction work of the right bank main canal is reaching its final stage and the 22km-long left bank canal construction, entrusted to the Chinese CAMSE Engineering Company would be completed within six months, allowing Yan Oya farmers to obtain the full benefits of the reservoir project. They would obtain irrigation water to nearly 50,000 acres paddy lands in both the Yala and Maha seasons. 


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