by Garvin Karunaratne

I recall my days in Anuradhapura in the early 1960s, tackling minor irrigation as an Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services in charge of the subject.

The subject of irrigation works, both the major tanks- over 200 acres done by the Irrigation Department and the minor tanks under nobody at the moment, required immediate attention. All of them were in a neglected state. The maintenance of minor tanks under minor irrigation were attended to by the Vel Vidanes appointed by the Government Agent, and after minor irrigation administration was taken over by the Agrarian Services, the task was handled by the Cultivation Committees. With the abolition of the Paddy Lands Act around 1979, the cultivation committees ceased to exist. Thereafter, no Kanna meetings – meetings to get the farmers to adhere to cultivation and maintenance have been held systematically. The Yayapalakas appointed are clueless and inefficient and the irrigation works continue to be neglected.

Please permit me to quote from my book, Nuwara Kalaviya (2020)

Without the tanks in proper order and no systematic water distribution Nuwara Kalaviya is economically dead.

 The allocations for maintenance work are very low. A Department of Irrigation document states:

The number of irrigation tanks managed by agencies other than the Department of Irrigation are unable to undertake maintenance and development due to lack of funds …. By considering the present rate the average cost of rehabilitating one tank is Rs six million and maintenance Rs 2 million. The average annual allocation is sufficient to rehabilitate 25 tanks and maintain 15 tanks only” This is in a situation where there are hundreds of neglected tanks.

It is absolutely necessary that action is taken to revert to the vibrant system that we had when the GA was handling minor irrigation with the Vel Vidanes or when the Agrarian Services was handling with the cultivation committees. Otherwise the death knell of Nuwara Kalaviya is a foregone conclusion.”

Garvin Karunaratne

former Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services, Anuradhapura 1963 & 1964,

later G. A. Matara