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Environment Minister orders Rs. 200 million to conserve the Kelani River
Wed, Dec 22, 2021, 11:31 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 22, Colombo: Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Environment, has directed the concerned officials to take steps towards allocating Rs. 200 million to conserve the Kelani River by 2022
Tuesday saw Minister Mahinda amaraweera chair a discussion at the Ministry of Environment about the Surakimu Ganga projects that will be implemented in the next year.
Sri Lanka’s river system has 103 rivers. The most polluted is the Kelani River. The Kelani River is the source of drinking water for more than 85 percent in the Colombo-Gampaha district. The Kelani River is contaminated by all the waste water from both the nearby factories and other non-business entities.
Minister said that 1,474 sites were identified which discharge effluents to Kelani River.
The Minister directed the Ministry of Environment, therefore, to make plans for water conservation in Kelani River next years. In parallel, priority should be given the conservation of at most five other major rivers.
The government has allocated Rs. 2 billion for the Surakimu Ganga project next year. The Minister also directed officials that Rs. 200 million to the Kelani River Conservation Project.
The President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has complete confidence in the Surakimu Ganga Program and the President has agreed that he will provide additional financial assistance to river conservation until 2022 under a special fund.
Minister said that special projects were needed to make the water of Kelani River drinkable, in particular in coordination with Divisional Secretariats and obtaining project approvals from them.
