Environment Minister Dhammika Patabedi said the government expects residents in landslide-prone areas to relocate now that a significantly improved compensation package has been proposed.
He said people had been reluctant to move earlier because previous governments offered only Rs. 400,000 to build a house and Rs. 1 million to purchase land—an amount many felt was insufficient.
Under the new proposal, affected families will receive Rs. 5 million to buy land and an additional Rs. 5 million to construct a house. “With this compensation, we hope people will now move out of landslide-prone areas,” the Minister said.
Patabedi added that the Environment Ministry has begun discussions to establish a long-overdue national mechanism to mitigate natural disasters such as floods and landslides. The initiative will be coordinated with institutions including the Disaster Management Centre and the Meteorology Department, with international support also being sought.
He noted that a Sri Lankan delegation is currently in Nairobi participating in the Seventh Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 7).
The Minister criticised previous governments for failing to introduce a proper disaster-mitigation framework, saying they only implemented isolated projects and temporary solutions.
He pointed out that some residents affected by the 2011 landslides in the Kegalle District are still living in partially built houses, highlighting the long-standing nature of the problem.
