Vavuniya economic centre site tussle lands on district official's desk
As northern politicos are at loggerheads over a venue for a proposed dedicated economic centre in Vavuniya, the cabinet directed the District Secretary last week to hold the District Coordination Committee meeting to decide whether Thandikulam or Omanthai should be selected.
District Secretary of Vavuniya, M.B.R. Pushpakumara, told the Sunday Times that he has been preparing for the meeting.
“This issue has been dragging on for a long time within a political party. I was informed by the cabinet last week to take a final decision by holding the DDC meeting shortly. The TNA can’t decide on this,” he said.
The District Secretariat is coordinating with the four co-chairs of the DDC, namely Chief Minister of Northen Provincial Council, C.V. Wigneswaran, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, Selvam Adaikalanathan, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen, and United People's Freedom Alliance parliamentarian, Kader Masthan to fix a date for the meeting.
This week a group of traders in Vavuniya protested against the move to build the economic centre in Omanthai, an area wrecked by war, and located 12 kilo- metres from the town.
They complained that traders from Vavuniya, Madawachchiya, and Weli Oya would find it difficult to market their products. Protesters handed over a memo to the District Secretariat urging a review of the decision.
In a counter protest, students of Thandikulam Agriculture College took to the streets the next day to claim that their education would be affected if the economic centre is located near the college. Thandikulam is a suburban city located 2 kilometres from Vavuniya town.
Dedicated economic centres have been created to provide opportunities for wholesale traders to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables, directly from producers. This also promised to eliminate middlemen.
Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake, proposed a new economic zone in Vavuniya, in the budget this year and allocated Rs 200 million to the Ministry of Rural Economic Affairs.
Two more similar economic centres are to be opened in Ampara and Kilinochchi before the end of this year.
The provincial council government was asked to identify a suitable land for the project by the ministry within the Vavuniya district but 10 months passed.
Meanwhile, in 2010, at the Vavuniya District Coordination Committee meeting, it was decided to build the economic centre in Omanthai. But that too did not material- ise due to the lack of funding from the central government.
Renuka Ekanayake Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Economic Affairs told the Sunday Times that the ministry has asked the District Secretary of Vavuniya to submit the feasibility study reports of the identified sites.
“After the cabinet decided to resolve the issue of identifying the land through the DDC meeting in Vavuniya, we are hopeful that things will move in the right direction,” she said.
The ministry laid down six point criteria for selecting the site, including transport facilities, and the location to be within a two-mile radius from the city. The site has to be between 3 and 5 acres, close to the main road and have water and electricity.
Last month, when P. Harison, the Minister of Rural Economic Affairs visited the two proposed sites in Omanthai, Manikkavalavu private plots and another state site in Veppankulam, he requested the Vavuniya District Secretariat to release the land near the newly built private bus stand in Vavuniya. But the TNA and local politicians opposed it vehemently.
When the Tamil National Alliance found itself divided on this issue, it decided on a secret ballot this week. The Chief Minister’s office announced on Monday that 21 participants voted for Omanthai while only five chose Thandikulam; 13 members abstained.
A senior official at the Chief Minister’s office told the Sunday Times that the process was followed on the instructions of the Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran.
TNA leader Mavai Senathirajah who visited the proposed sites last Saturday told the Sunday Times that a final decision would be taken after considering the views of councilors and after consulting with other stakeholders. “We have to consider many things when deciding on the location. The proposed land in Omanthai has to be cleared after following procedures from the Urban Development Authority. Some of the lands in that area are private lands. The transport availability to the market is also another factor.''
Significantly, the NPC passed an urgent resolution last month demanding the central government to build the proposed economic centre in Thandikulam farm land. But, soon after, different opinions emerged on its suitability and many changed their position including Chief Minister Wigneswaran who reasoned later that he was not present in the council when the resolution was passed.
Opposition Leader of NPC, S. Thavarasa told the Sunday Times that this reflected the inefficiency of the NPC administration when it marginalised the decisions of the council unanimously. “This is a minor issue which could have been dealt with very easily, but there are many people in the council who have vested interests.''