With pluck and luck he reached the top in public service
My lifelong friend and colleague W.D. Aillapperuma, who reached the highest echelons of the Public Service has departed amidst grief, leaving an indelible impression of awe and admiration in the minds of all those who were associated with him.
I first met the extremely sharp and amiable young District Land Officer Aila and his endearing wife Pushpa way back in 1966, when I assumed duties as Government Agent of Polonnaruwa District and in no time we struck an everlasting accord which lasted for 56 years. Thereafter, by some strange coincidence for 28 years till both of us retired from the Public Service in 1994, we had the opportunity of working together in unison under the same roof in wide and varied fields of the Public Service such as District Administration, Agriculture, Housing, Construction, Urban Development, Local Government and Village Reawakening or Gam Udawa.
Like many of our contemporaries, Aila was a brilliant product of free education. The students of our generation enjoyed the best of both worlds with English as the medium of instruction and equal emphasis being given to the study of Sinhala language and literature. His proficiency in English and Sinhala and early exposure to foreign training gave him a head start in his career development. Added to that, he was a voracious reader, with a good memory; a veritable storehouse of knowledge indeed.
To reach the topmost positions in the Public Service, one should have both pluck and luck; Aila had both in equal measure. Being in the very first batch of the Ceylon Administrative Service, he received induction training very similar to that of the Ceylon Civil Service. Very early in his career he was sent for post-graduate training in development administration at Cambridge University and subsequently for a course of studies in managing urban growth at the World Bank Institute in Washington. Aila made the most of all these opportunities that came his way.
Aila’s Public Service career was both slow and steady and wide and varied. He was always prepared to take on challenging jobs and break new ground. In fact, as the first Director General of the Urban Development Authority and the Central Environmental Authority, he displayed his tremendous organizational ability and innovative skills. He was at his best in the handling of the Million Houses Programme, the Village Reawakening Movement and the annual Gam Udawa celebrations. He functioned with great distinction as the Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing from 1989-1994.
During this period Aila along with his Minister Sirisena Cooray successfully steered the One and a Half Million Houses Programme and the Village Reawakening Programme, which provided the much acclaimed breakthrough in participatory development.
Among other key positions he held were Chairman, National Housing Development Authority and Director Planning in the Ministry of Local
Government Housing and Construction. He was one of the most sought after and trusted Public Servants of President Premadasa over a period of 15 years, from 1978-1993; an enviable position to be in, and a rare feat indeed, considering President Premadasa’s fluctuating moods and idiosyncrasies.
During Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake’s Green Revolution of 19651970, when the Polonnaruwa District was adjudged the best district in the island in relation to paddy yields per acre, Aila was my top ranking bureaucrat spearheading the food production drive. During President Premadasa’s massive and universal Housing and Village Reawakening Movement of 1978-1994, he was my able and trusted Deputy Director of the annual Gam Udawa Festival. During my chairmanship of the Central Environmental Authority from 1980-1989, Aila as its Director General was responsible for the drafting of the National Environmental Act and for devising the organization, methods and systems of this fledgling institution.
So Aila, maybe from his present heavenly abode could rejoice at his achievements; Polonnaruwa District provides the highest paddy surplus; over half of our low income families have a shelter above their heads and the Central Environmental Authority has made its mark throughout the country.
Aila was one of the most endearing persons, I have met. He was always kind and sensitive, calm and unruffled and above all, indefatigable and positive. He had the ability to face any challenge confidently, fearlessly and innovatively. He was a man of principles. He always acted true to his conscience; he stood for justice, fair play and righteousness. If he made any wrong decision, he would be the first to admit his mistake and rectify it with humility. He was non-aggressive and never lost his temper. He had a piercing mind, better than that of a Scotland Yard detective.
Quite often people seek high office in the Public Service because it adorns them. But in the case of Aila, it was the other way around. He adorned the Public Service. Men of such sterling calibre are very rare indeed.
It has been said that “behind every successful man there is a woman”. I suppose a woman with courage and determination, Pushpa Ranatunga, Aila’s wife not only proved beyond doubt but also to the hilt, the validity of this saying. She was a tower of strength and also a guardian deity to Aila throughout the 56 years of their matrimony. She herself is an Honours graduate of the then independent University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, and a member of the Ceylon Administrative Service before it was politicized. A loving, caring and understanding wife, she made many personal sacrifices at great personal discomfort to make Aila healthy and happy.
Aila also leaves behind two accomplished children; a son and a daughter, whom he adored.
May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana.