Promise of equitable development

THE ground-breaking nature of the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Development Project - which gets off the ground today - could be perceived when its development potential is taken into consideration.

As indicated by us already, it is the largest single irrigation project to be launched to date within the Mahaweli Development Plan. It is also the largest irrigation project in terms cost: Rs. 40,000 million.

However, the abundant promise the project holds could be realised best when the vast benefits it would bring our farming community is taken into consideration.

Besides providing the water needs of our farmers, particularly during the Yala season, in sizeable parts of the North-Central and Eastern Provinces, the project is expected to increase the productivity of the agricultural sector by some 165 to 185 per cent.

The Moragahakanda Project, therefore, is a great boon to our farming community who comprise a substantial proportion of the rural poor. Besides, the project is of a multipurpose nature, containing within it a power-generation potential.

As we have continually pointed out in this commentary, "development" which showers growth and wealth on only a few, at the expense of the many, is no development at all. Development to make any sense, should be equitable development.

That is, the benefits of the development process should benefit all and have the effect of bringing a substantial degree of well-being to all. The Moragahakanda Project promises to do just this. That is, bring prosperity and enhanced living standards to the rural poor.

What enhances the appeal of this major irrigation project is the fact that it would be carried out entirely with local expertise and know-how. Well done, we tell the State authorities overseeing the project.

It is a relief to learn that we would be depending entirely on local human resources and thereby saving mints of foreign exchange for the country. Besides, we are learning to be self-reliant and this too is a great positive.

What is left to be done by the State is to ensure the complete implementation of the project on schedule. Besides, the implementation process should take place in an accountable manner. Every public official involved in the project should be held accountable for acts of commission or omission which are bound to harm the project in any way.

The Moragahakanda Project could be said to be a dream comes true for President Mahinda Rajapaksa who promised in his Mahinda Chintana manifesto to meet the everyday needs of the ordinary people, through the launching of multipurpose projects. In fact, our water resources were earmarked by him for development and expansion.

This emphasis on bringing prosperity to the poor needs to be warmly commended. This is the stuff of far-seeing and sensible development plans.

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