Unauthorized constructions, floods, landslides and LG polls

Local government elections are expected to be held in March this year. The governing central government parties have shown little enthusiasm toward the holding of local hustings. Those in opposition political parties meanwhile speak on the vital importance of holding the election on schedule. 

The Chairman of the Elections Commission has announced that he intends holding LG elections in a timely manner, but has added a rider, regarding the availability of cash to organize such a large undertaking.

Not unexpectedly he has come in for a good deal of criticism and has been accused of using delaying tactics in an effort to postpone the exercise at the request of the central government.

Local government bodies, be they Municipalities, Urban Councils or Village Councils are important to all ordinary citizens as they are supposed to attend to localized problems which need to be solved in a timely manner. 

Whether it is to build a house, apartment complex, repair local roads, keep the cities clean, are functions devolved to local government bodies to ensure people falling within their purview are provided with a speedy and efficient service. Maintenance of irrigation facilities in rural areas, drainage systems in urban areas upkeep of local roads etc., all fall under the purview of local governments

At a time when local government elections are the talk of the town, is perhaps the best time to highlight the many shortcomings within our local government system.

There are 341 local government bodies today. Yet, with every monsoonal rain, roads become impassable and minor/major floods are reported from different parts of the country. Worse earth slips mudslides and rockfalls are commonplace with homes being destroyed and loss of life accompanying each heavy shower.

Yet, though this country faces two monsoon seasons annually, little if nothing has done to mitigate the problem. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) regularly pinpoints endangered areas and prohibits construction at these sites.

Yet, local bodies issue permits to persons of wealth and or political connections to engage in illegal construction at places in which they have been prohibited. It’s all a matter of paying - a few rupees more - to corrupt officials whose job it is to ensure that standards and areas of construction are met. An example of this type of activity was highlighted in the ‘Daily Mirror’ recently.

In that instance, the timely intervention of the Land Reclamation. Department prevented a large multinational company from putting up constructions blocking waterways in a suburb of Colombo. But for this timely intervention on a complaint of area residents, the area would have been flooded during monsoon rains. The company had been issued construction permits from local government officials and bureaucrats despite the inherent dangers of flooding posed by the construction.

More than 1,500 homes were destroyed and another 7,600 suffered structural damage in landslides triggered by heavy rain during the year 2017, according to the DMC.

At the time politicians promised to help relocate those illegally occupying reservations along the banks of rivers as well as on landslide prone mountain slopes.

Yet, LG authorities have done little to change this situation...  According to the DMC situation report, as of August 8, 2022, over 15,000 people (4,000 families) have been affected across ten districts.

In 2017, then Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka revealed there were around 10,000 illegal substandard constructions in the Colombo, Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia and Kolannawa areas. Of these, he said around 1,800 unauthorized settlements and buildings lay between Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte - most of which fall under the Colombo Municipal Council.

Many of these illegal constructions receive pipe-borne water, electricity and in some instances even sewerage facilities. In other words, they have the blessings of the local authority. As we mentioned earlier local authorities are in place to help ease the process of residents in a given area and ensure the smooth functioning of keeping areas under their purview hygienic and clean. 

Yet today, getting the simplest of tasks attended to requires the payment of ‘a small something’ to the officer in-charge of that particular function. Applying for a building permit for a house or an extension of an existing facility requires bribes be paid. Even the collection of garbage is done on the basis of how much in-kind or monetary payment is made to garbage collectors. 

Clearing of a simple street drain - normally a one-man job - sees two to three actual workers plus two or more supervisors attending to this function.

Since LG elections are now in the air, let us ask our local political parties and candidates, how they propose to provide us - the rate payers - a more streamlined, corrupt-free and clean administration.