Budget Promises: Beyond Parliament

Water for All - Under this mechanism, it is expected to increase daily volume of water supply from 2.1 million cubic meters to 4.4 million cubic meters and to provide pipe-borne drinking water to an additional 3.5 million families, by laying at least 40,000 km of pipes throughout the country. Commencing this initiative Rs. 125 billion is allocated for 2021 to implement 263 community water projects, enhance the usage of current water supply through 171 projects and to commence 40 new projects. Along with this allocation, treasury guarantees will be provided to obtain bank financing.

Ministry of Water Supply

Drinking Water - In line with the government’s target of providing safe drinking water for all in the next three years, an additional allocation of Rs.5,000 million will be made to provide pipe borne water connections to 450,000 houses in 2021, together with the improvements in community drinking water development programs, and reservoirs and water sources

Ministry of Water Supply

National Security - Allocation has been provided to the tri forces to fulfill the basic requirement in the medium term and long term plan. The medium term plan includes enhancing professional skillset of the tri forces and enhancing accessibility to modern techonology.

Ministry of Defence

100,000 km Road Program - To construct 50,000 kilometers of rural roads under the 100,000 kilometer program, covering almost all villages.

Ministry of Highways

Rural Bridge Development - To facilitate 12,000 of the most rural of villages to be connected to the external environment, the construction of 10,000 rural bridges which have been designed to provide motorable access to small vehicles.

Ministry of Highways

Gamata Sanniwedanaya (Communication for the Village) - The project has already been initiated in Rathnapura district to ensure 100 percent 4G/fibre broadband coverage and it is expected to be expanded to the entire country by investing Rs.15,000 million from the Telecom Development Fund during the period 2021-2022.

Ministry of Technology - Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka

Techno Parks - Establishment of 5 fully-fledged plug and play Techno Parks in Galle, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Kandy and Batticaloa districts.

Ministry of Technology

Technological Improvement - The allocation has been provided with the aim of converting the economy to a technology-based entrepreneurial economy by expanding entrepreneurial development, technological infrastructure and related services to enable enhancement of the contribution of the technology sector for exports and its contribution for knowledge and professional services of the national economy. Establishment of an international e-commerce and e-payment systems, the high speed data exchange system and the related mobile network systems are investment priorities

Ministry of Technology

Elephant Human Conflict - To establish elephant fencing and trenches, and also to construct tanks in the wildlife areas while meeting the requirement for food of the animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and empowering the communities to engage in community safeguard mechanisms, with a view to mitigate the loss of property and life that arises due to the human elephant conflict.

Department of Wildlife

Forest Conservation - Expand forest cover by 15,000 acres, strengthen surveillance by the Sri Lanka Air Force to prevent illegal deforestation and initiate reforestation.

Department of Forest Conservation

Empowerment of Samurdhi Families - To support the programme to upgrade household economies centered around 200,000 Samurdhi families and thereby empower their villages

State Ministry of Samurdhi, Home Economy, Micro Finance, Self Employment and Business Development - Department of Samurdhi

Young Women Entrepreneur - To establish a shop in all Grama Niladhari divisions where the network of shops has been adequately expanded targeting 25,000 female entrepreneurs chosen from Samurdhi families. Under this network of shops functioning under government sponsorship and bank credit facilities, priority will be given to sell local products. The government will provide credit facilities through Samurdhi banks and other state banks and to implement a special insurance scheme through the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation

State Ministry of Samurdhi, Home Economy, Micro Finance, Self Employment and Business Development

Legal Sector Infrastructure - For a fast-tracked intensive 3 year programme aimed at increasing the number of Justices and staff in the entire legal system including in high courts and magistrate courts and expanding the required infrastructure to rapidly solve those cases

Ministry of Justice

Development of Rural Hospitals - To improve rural hospitals, dispensaries, and maternal clinics

Ministry of Health

People Centered Health Service - It is proposed to provide an additional allocation for the expansion of maternity and child clinics, dispensaries and adult service centers, laboratory services, hospitals and research institutes with the required human resources to maintain a people centric health service.

Ministry of Health

Infants and Pregnant Mothers - The production of Thriposha, the supplementary food to infants and pregnant mothers in our country, has been severely curtailed due to the lack of cereals such as maize, soya and green gram are used to produce Thriposha and therefore is it distributed to only less than half of the required infants and mothers. Allocation will be used to purchase above raw materials from farmers and store them Thriposha production. With this program, which will commence with the harvesting of the grain in the Maha season, the continuous distribution of Thriposha food to infants and pregnant mothers will commence from March.

State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-schools and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services

Development of Rural Schools - To provide the required teachers and basic facilities to the rural schools

Ministry of Education

Waste Management - Pradeshiya Sabha - For waste management in Pradeshiya Sabhas in order to prevent the wildlife from being attracted to villages due dumping of garbage in village boundaries close to wildlife

State Ministry of Provincial and Local Government Affairs

Infrastructure - Pradeshiya Sabha - To maintain roads in Pradeshiya Sabha areas without adequate revenue, to maintain cleanliness in Sathipola and common areas, disposal of wastage and provision of community sanitary facilities

State Ministry of Provincial and Local Government Affairs

Distance Education - Allocation is provided to update the E-Thaksalawa learning portal along with the strengthening of the provincial IT education centers. To minimize the difficulties faced by students in rural and non “National Schools”, due to shortage of teachers, and ensure the provision of continuous school education in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, the ‘Guru Gedara’ education channel should be made available to all students by providing television sets to schools in difficult areas

State Ministry of Education Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion

Vocational Education - Proposed to provide the instructors and staff of the vocational education institutes with incentives based on their performance and to provide a monthly bursary of Rs. 4,000 for students in the vocational education system. Action will be taken to increase the current annual intake of 100,000 students to state-run vocational education institutes up to 200,000

State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education , Research and Innovation

Public Security - Government has given special attention to strengthen the police forces so as to assure public security. Resources will be allocated to support scoial proection( the control of the drug menace, to regulate vehicles and traffic rules, strengthening Tourist police, special trainings and provide the necessary facilities to prevent crimes and robberies. It is also proposed to expand the police patrols to ensure public safety by deploying special police vehicles)

Ministry of Public Security

Sports Economy - It is proposed to allocate additional provisions amounting to Rs. 2,000 million as the initial investment out of the larger medium term investments to be made during 2021-2024 aimed at establishing a sports complex for the 2032 Olympics, expansion of female participation, in national and international sports events and establishing a sports economy of USD 1,000 million by 2025. This programme also includes establishment of synthetic tracks in Kurunegala, Jaffna, Torrington, Bogambara and Diyagama sports complexes and establishment of a modern sports city in Sooriyawewa with information and modern technology facilities

Ministry of Youth and Sports

Walking Paths and Common Facilities - To establish urban walking tracks and associated common amenities in municipal and urban council areas island wide in an eco-friendly manner co existing with the bio diversity of each these areas.

State Ministry of Urban Development, Waster Disposal and Community Cleanliness

Plantations - 1. It is planned to promote sugarcane cultivation in Kantale, Badulla, Monaragala to enable sugarcane farmers with garner a higher income. 2. Plans are in place to increase the production capacity of the Lanka Sugar Company by 70,000 MT, to modernize sugar production factories and to modify the distilleries to enhance Ethanol and related products. 3. It is planned to diversify the local Kithul and Palmyrah industries with a view to access the export. 4. Provisions are also made to expand programmes implemented under the Ministry of Plantation Industries with the aim of establishing export, cultivation and processing zones for Ceylon True Cinnamon. 5. Department of Civil Security has planned to cultivate 6,500 acres of cashew of land belonging to the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation in conjunction with the farmers integh area, and to cultivate crops such as black gram, green gram and chilli duringthe first phase of cultivation of cashew. 6. Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation will provide the extension services to promote cashew cultivation in Mannar and Puttalam districts amongst the small land owners.

Ministry of Plantation | State Ministry of Company Establishment Reforms, Tea Estate Crops, Tea Factory Modernization and Tea Export Diversification | State Ministry of Coconut, Kithul and Palmyrah | State Ministry of Development of Minor Crops Plantation Including Sugar Cane Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel, Related Industries and Export Promotion Cultivation Promotion and Related Industrial Product Manufacturing & Export Diversifications

Drip Irrigation - It is proposed to provide capital grants of Rs.150,000 to 10,000 small and medium scale commercial agro entrepreneurs, with agricultural wells to install solar power operated water pumps in order to increase production capacities by harnessing new technology including drip irrigation

Ministry of Plantation | State Ministry of Company Establishment Reforms, Tea Estate Crops, Tea Factory Modernization and Tea Export Diversification | State Ministry of Coconut, Kithul and Palmyrah | State Ministry of Development of Minor Crops Plantation Including Sugar Cane Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel, Related Industries and Export Promotion Cultivation Promotion and Related Industrial Product Manufacturing and Export Diversification

Registration of Identity of Mineral Sands - Initiate the registration of the Sri Lankan identity of products of industries such as mineral sand, phosphate, fertilizer and graphite

Ministry of Industries

Development of Traditional Villages - To support villages engaged in traditional industries to expand their production and to facilitate access to and attraction of markets for the special goods

State Ministry of Rattan, Brass, Pottery, Furniture and Rural Industries Promotion

University Infrastructure Facilities - It is proposed to set up a non-resident City University per District, targeting specific areas of high demand for employment opportunities. As a start, I propose to convert existing vocational education or other government owned buildings and infrastructure facilities in the Kalutara, Ampara, Puttalam and Nuwara Eliya districts

State Ministry of Skills Development , Vocational Education, Research and Innovation

Tank Rehabilitation - Small and medium sized tanks will be rehabilitated in agricultural areas to improve the water stock to support the farmers to prepare for the 2021 Yala season

Ministry of Irrigation