CPC shelves Town and Country Amendment Bill

The Central Province Provincial Council who wanted more time to discuss the proposed Town and Country Planning Ordinance Amendment Bill, had failed to come to a consensus and thereby failed to pass the Bill, sources from the Provincial Council said yesterday.

A UPFA member of the CP Provincial Council told Daily Mirror yesterday that the reason for the impasse was because of the manner in which the Bill had reached the PC, which was through Parliament. He said that the Bill had bypassed PCS and had come as a result of a directive of the Supreme Court.

UNP Member of the Central Province Provincial Council H. M. L. D Jayawardene said that his party too needed more time to study the amendment before deciding whether to vote for it or not.

Meanwhile in a connected story the Western Provincial Council had approved the amendment by a majority of 23 votes with 43 members voting for and 23 against it. The JVP members abstained from voting. JVP Member Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa speaking to Daily Mirror said that while they welcome the amendment which would reduce some of the powers enjoyed by the provincial councils they had always been against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution under which the Provincial Councils were introduced. He also explained that they were opposed to the Bill because the lands which the Central Government was entitled to take over under this Bill would eventually be handed over to a foreign company. “Therefore we decided that the best option would be to abstain from voting,” he said.

Around twenty-six members of the ruling UPFA and 9 members from the opposition were not present at the time voting took place. The Amendment gives the central government the right to take over lands within municipal and urban areas for economic, social, historical, environmental and religious purposes. The Bill was said to have been introduced to promote and regulate a system of integrated planning and development for securing proper infrastructure.

The National Physical Council, which would be established under the provisions of the Bill, will give effect to the objectives set out in this Bill. Accordingly it would be possible for the authorities to declare designated areas as conservation areas, protected areas, architectural, historical areas and sacred areas.