Rs. 77 billion allocated to Nation Building Ministry

COLOMBO: A very large subject area has been assigned to the Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development Ministry which has been set up under Mahinda Chintanaya to develop the country by developing the villages, Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardhana told a press briefing at the Government Information Department.

The Cabinet Minister in charge of Nation Building is President Mahinda Rajapaksa and five non-Cabinet Ministers have been appointed to assist him.

He said total funding allocated to this Ministry amounted to Rs. 77 billion. Abeygunawardhana said the subjects entrusted to the Nation Building Ministry included the Samurdhi Movement, 1000 tanks rehabilitation program, Fisheries infrastructure development and rural development including the development of health and road facilities in villages.

Abeygunawardhana said a lot of problems cropped up due to lack of proper co-ordination when Ministries worked individually to develop the country.

It was to avoid such problems and create proper co-ordination that a single Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development was set up to undertake village and national development.

Nation Building Minister D.M. Dassanayake said heavy expenditure incurred in appointing several Cabinet Ministers had been circumvented by having a single Nation Building Ministry where the subject area had been divided among five ministers on a provincial basis.

Accordingly Minister Jagath Pushpakumara will be in-charge of Moneragala, Badulla, Ratnapura, Nuwara Eliya and Batticaloa Districts, Minister D. M. Dassanayake in charge of Puttalam, Kurunegala, Kegalle, Mannar and Mullaithivu Districts, Minister S. M. Chandrasena in-charge of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Matale, Kandy and Vavuniya districts, Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardhana in-charge of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Ampara and Jaffna Districts and Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon will be in-charge of Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Trincomalee and Mullaitivu districts.