‘Himikama’ National Program was held under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, Mr. K.D. Lalkantha.
Under the government’s policy of “A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life,” the inaugural ceremony of distributing 1000 Mahaweli ‘Himikama’ deeds to the farming community in the Mahaweli C area through the ‘Himikama’ National Program was held yesterday (15th) at the Girandurukotte Buddhist Center under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Mr. K.D. Lalkantha.
‘Himikama’ deeds were given to the farming community in the Mahaweli C area. This is scheduled to be implemented step by step across all ten Mahaweli zones. The farming community receiving ‘Himikama’ deeds today have not been given any documents until now to confirm the ownership of their land. The Mahaweli Authority is taking the lead in this regard.
Joining this occasion, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Mr. K.D. Lalkantha expressed his views.
We have to make a transformation in every corner of the country. The people living on mountaintops have to be brought down. Those living in areas belonging to riverbanks, streams, and wetlands have to be removed. In that context, you who came to settle on Mahaweli lands are people who left behind your ancestral homes and came to this area. Otherwise, Mahaweli project cannot be undertaken. Therefore, the fact that you abandoned your ancient villages for a noble national duty and came to this new area is a great meritorious deed.
When we make a transformation, people need to feel that they are gaining benefits from the new thing compared to the old. We now have the desire to solve the unresolved problems of the people in the Mahaweli area.
We are now in an era of transformation. On the 29th of this month, a new kind of educational chapter begins for grade one children. We need educational reform because it is necessary to preserve existing knowledge and move forward.
The new education system was scheduled to be implemented for grade six students as well on the 29th. But we cannot do this while parents have even a little doubt or hesitation. The new education reform will be implemented after eliminating that uncertainty and building that understanding with the parents.
The President intervened and increased the fertilizer subsidy for farmers from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000. That became a great strength for the farmer and agriculture. Last year, we managed to ensure there was no food shortage in the country. Therefore, no major problem arose.
We arranged to provide a fertilizer subsidy of Rs. 15,000 for crops other than paddy cultivated in paddy fields. That’s a victory from the farmer’s perspective. Even though we became self-sufficient in rice, certain rice varieties are in short supply. What is mostly cultivated in the Mahaweli C area is Keeri Samba. The price we gave per kilogram of Keeri Samba is Rs. 132 up to now. The minimum price we can give for Keeri Samba in this Maha season is Rs. 140. We hope to cultivate a bit more Keeri Samba in the country. When it comes to cultivation, we think first about giving the farmer a fair price, and only after that do we solve other people’s problems.
Until now, there was no authority to develop the tourism industry in the Mahaweli area. Now we have obtained that permission as well. I am pleased to issue you certificates for land ownership today. We are happier than you about being able to intervene in this matter. We want a country where the people live happily.
A group including Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Mr. Wasantha Piyathissa, Badulla District Member of Parliament Mr. Sudath Balagalla, and others participated in this occasion.
