{"id":99475,"date":"2020-02-29T15:46:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T22:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=99475"},"modified":"2020-02-29T15:46:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T22:46:54","slug":"end-28-years-of-mismanagement-of-the-hadabima-authority-of-sri-lanka-by-political-goons-immediately-at-least-now-and-restore-professionalism-to-save-this-national-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/02\/29\/end-28-years-of-mismanagement-of-the-hadabima-authority-of-sri-lanka-by-political-goons-immediately-at-least-now-and-restore-professionalism-to-save-this-national-project\/","title":{"rendered":"End 28 years of mismanagement of the HADABIMA Authority of Sri Lanka by political goons immediately, at least now, and restore professionalism to save this national Project."},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara (SLAS) Retired Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka,<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

This is a desperate\nplea made by me, to all concerned, as the man who started the Sri Lanka\nHADABIMA Authority in 1991 to Save the HADABIMA of Sri Lanka\u201d (The\nGeographical Heartland of this country) using the lessons learnt from my 5\nyears\u2019 experience as the Director of the then NADSA, from 1986 to 1991 with the\nfivefold objectives of,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientific 1\nWatershed Management, 2 Settlement Development, 3 Agricultural Diversification\nand 4  Ameliorating acute Landlessness and\nchronic poverty among the Kandyan peasants and \n5 Addressing the dragging and pestering Indian Estate Tamil labour\nproblem, with lasting socio-ethnic integration through a mixed settlement\nprogramme under the provisions of the Nehru\/Kotalawala Agreement of 1954.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am making this\nopen plea to President Gothbhaya Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister and the Minister\nof Agriculture, in particular, to protect this important national Project from\nunscrupulous and self-centered opportunists job seekers who have no clue at all\non its lofty objectives but are only concerned with making some money and enjoy\nthe benefits of office for which I laid the foundation in 1991, after\nresurrecting it from demise with a 12.5 Million aid package from the WFP. None\nof the 15 Chairmen who held Office from its inception in 1978 and more so are\nthe last 12 including the present Chairman (list attached) knew the ABCD of the\nProject objectives or had any concern for the country or the people without\nwhich one is not qualified to Head this important national Project, that holds\nthe key to the survival of the entire life system and the civilization in this\ncountry. Therefore I appeal to the President to immediately appoint a\nprofessional, as he has promised in his Election Manifesto, who can understand\nthe basic objectives of this Project and carry them out to their logical\nconclusion with dedication and commitment to make the lofty objectives of this\nProject a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I am giving you here the story of the HADABIMA\nProject as the man who conceived it in 1991 so that you will get a\ncomprehensive idea about this all important Development Project and its\nobjectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of the Hadabima Authority of Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hadabima\nAuthority of Sri Lanka (Haritha Danav Bim Sanvardhana Madyama Adhikariya) was\nfounded by me in 1991 to implement a major national development Project within\nthe three badly neglected Provinces of Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa, covering\nthe entire hilly areas within these three Provinces consisting nearly 1\/3 the\narea of the country and an approximate rural population of nearly Six Hundred\nThousand. The Project idea was  an\nextension of the former NADSA (National Agricultural Development and settlement\nAuthority) concept started in 1978 to address three important objectives\nnamely, a) Watershed management, b) Agricultural Diversification and c)\nSettlement Development, that was set up to develop the area between 300-900 m\nMS of the hill country in the two Districts of Kandy and Kegalla within the 4\nelectorates of Gampola and Nawalapitiya (Kandy) and Mawanella and Yatiyantota\n(Kegalla) which was, in my opinion one of the best Development Projects, If not\nthe best, ever conceived in the post Independent era in this country. However\ndue to political and management blunders the then government was compelled to\nclose it down by end of 1986 as  a failed\nProject after the World Bank  withdrew\nits funding component of 4.5 million US$ after black listing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HADABIMA\nDevelopment concept was first conceived by me in late 1986 after I was\nappointed to preside over the last rituals of NADSA by Minnister Gamani Jayasuriya\nin April 1986.The new development plan was proposed by me in 1989, with a view\nto replicate the NADSA experience of a successful period of 3 years as a pilot\nProject to address the above objectives. I conceived within a broader national\nperspective to address, the alarming deforestation, soil erosion, land\ndegradation, drying up of all the rivers in the entire Central Hill Country and\nits fringe land around it and the acute landlessness prevailing particularly\namong the Kandyan peasants, focusing on the five major objectives namely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) Watershed\nconservation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) Settlement\nDevelopment <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) Agricultural\nDiversification <\/p>\n\n\n\n

d) Ameliorating\nacute Landlessness among the Kandyan peasants and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e) Addressing\nthe dragging Indian Estate Tamil labour problem with lasting socio-ethnic\nintegration through a mixed settlement programme under the provisions of the\nNehru\/Kotalawala Agreement of 1954<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brief history of the NADSA (now called HADABIMA\nproject) for those who do not know whether it is chicken or fish. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background for NADSA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In the wake of the newly emerged worldwide\ndevelopment euphoria in the early 1970s based on environmental protection, land\nreforms and equitable distribution of wealth and to achieve social justice\nadvocated by people like Gunnar Myrdal in his classic Asian Drama and the  thought provoking concept of appropriate\ntechnology (enunciated by Schumacher the Father of that Technology) as an\nalternative for modern technology to face the challenges of sustainable\ndevelopment and the need for increased production to avoid worldwide hunger and\nthe dangers of blanket application of Modern Technology to the so-called Third\nWorld countries, the attention of the then Government (1970-1977) was drawn to the  following problems at Home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Serious soil\nerosion and land degradation in the hill Country and silting of the Islands\nrivers in the lowlands and recurrent floods in downstream areas due to large\nscale deforestation started by the British in 1830s and still continuing\nun-arrested due to poor land management and inappropriate cultivation practices\nfollowed by an utterly ineffective and inefficient plantation sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 The problem of\nserious landlessness and poverty and social injustice, particularly in the\nKandayn provinces due to loss of their ancestral land to the British and non-\nimplementation of the recommendations of the Kandyan Peasantry Commission of\n1951 and lack of income generating opportunities among the peasant population\nin the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 The crying\nneed to diversify the plantation sector with a package of diversified crops\nlike pepper, Cloves and Coffee combined with other native home garden crops\nlike coconut, Arica, vegetable and fruits and animal husbandry to reduce\ndependency on few mono crops like Tea and Rubber and also to avoid the vagaries\nof recurrent price fluctuation in the world market to face balance of payment\nproblems<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 The need to\nrevisit the Kandyan Forest Garden concept that is as good as the natural forest\nfor environmental protection and to control soil erosion (with an annual soil\nloss rate of 0.1mt\/ha\/year) with a modified mixed farm version to generate more\nincome than from a traditional Kandyan Forest Gardens. (Recent studies by Guido\nKuchelmeister (1987) and Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka (1995) have found the\nKandyan Forest Garden model to be the best ecosystem for this type of hilly\nterrain as it possess both ecological and environmental characteristics that\nare ideal for such situations in a tropical country- only second to the natural\nforests) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently on\na request by the Government, World Bank carried out a comprehensive study on\nall these aspects and finally they produced 97 excellent research documents\nthat remains a gold mine guideline for any development in this region of the\ncountry for  a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Phase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the\nfindings of these studies the next UNP Government that came to power in 1977\nset up the National Agricultural Diversification and Settlement Development\nAuthority (NADSA) in August 1978 to implement a pilot Project in six selected\nriver basins in the Kandy (Gampola and Nawalapitiya) and Kegalla (Mawanella and\nYatiyantota) Districts to be replicated in other hill country areas with\nsimilar problems after the trial period. These Projects were confined to the\nmid country (300-900m MSL).The new Government started with a bang contributing\n2.5m US$ as GOSL component and the World Bank providing 4.5m US$. The Minister\nof Agriculture E L Senanayaka vested few LRC marginal and neglected Tea and\nRubber lands from the two   of Kandy and\nKegalla and established the NADSA in August 1978 and as usual packed it with\ntheir political stooges who knew nothing next to the objectives of the Project.\nThey had no proper plan of development either. They also had no vision or a\nmission on the implementation of this Project, other than finding some\nlucrative employment for their supports. The Minister toured the area by\nhelicopter with WB Chairman. Kapila Wimaladharma Pathirana (SLAS) the General\nManager was the only professional attached to this Project. But before long the\nMinister chased him out as he had refused to carry out some of the Ministers\nmad orders and put one of his supporters in that place from Kandy a retired kachcheri,\nsurveyor by the name Wikramasuriya.  In\nno time the World Bank got disgusted with mismanagement and poor Project\nperformance and decided to withdraw from the Project with the 4.5 Million\nGrant. They discarded and blacklisted it as a failed Project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently on\na Report by Ranjan Wijeratna, the then Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture,\nwho knew only about Tea planting, the government decided to close down the\nproject in  1986. Thus conceptually one\nof the best development projects ever conceived in the post Independent era in\nthis country, finally the Government decided to close it down by end of 1986,\non his report. Thereafter productive estates and good Bungalows were\nappropriated by politicians and sometimes even by the officials. For example\nKelli Estate with its Bungalow was given to Deputy Minister Agriculture\nImbulana. Part of Ovel Estate and its manager\u2019s bungalow in Gampola to a\nrelation of Gamini Disanayaka and Wariyagala Bungalow with few acres of Tea was\nappropriated by the successor to Kapila as Director and part of the same state\nwas given to the Administrative Officer of NADSA, who was a Son-in-law of a UNP\nstalwart Gunasena Mudalali of Matale.. Meanwhile all the Tea factories were\ngiven for a song to one Karunaratna from Colombo a close friend of JR. who\ndismantled them and made a fortune of it. \nImmediately after I took over the Project in Aril 1986, I stopped all\nsuch nefarious activities and the assets were used for development within the\nProject<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second phase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second phase\nthat opened a new lease of life to the NADSA Project (later named by me as\nHADABIMA Project) under my administration was set in motion from the date I\ntook it over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 2nd<\/sup>\n1986 I took over a Project that was to be closed down by end of the year. In\nfact Minister Gamani Jayasuriya sent me there to preside over the last rituals\nof NADSA, until he takes me as his Additional Secretary on Janu.1. 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This appointment\ncame at a time when I was getting ready to leave public service in disgust, to\ntake up a Commonwealth Assignment as an Expert in Handicrafts in New Guinea, as\nmy appointment as Government Matale twice and Kandy once had been blocked\nthrice and even as the Registrar of Peradeniya University in spite of the fact\nthat I had come first at the Interview by the then UNP Government. On the day I\nmet Minister Gamani Jayasuriya in this backdrop in the company of Mahanaayaka\nThero of Asgiriya, after going through my Bio-data he said he will take me\nimmediately as his Additional Secretary and moreover there is no point in going\nto NADSA as it will be closed down by the end of the year. Had I accepted his\noffer I could have been the Secretary Ministry of Agriculture in no time since\nby that time I had completed more than six years in Class1 and 21 years in\nSLAS. It also would have been a very big promotion in my carrier. But since I\nopted to be in Kandy for personal reasons till end of year he put me on this\njob on condition that I will come to the Ministry of Agriculture as his\nAdditional Secretary in Jan 1987. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spite of objections\nby the Chief CP Minister Disanayaka for my appointment, I assumed duties on 32nd\n<\/sup> of April 1985 on the directions of\nthe Minister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my attempt to\nget an idea about the Project the first document was a comprehensive evaluation\nreport of the Project made by Kapila, the first Director that gave me a bird\u2019s\neye view of the Project? This was followed by few visits to the field in trying\nto understand the ground situation by meeting the people to see the actual\nsituation and trying to understand the problems faced by the farmers. I met the\nMinister on Monday the next and told him how I have understood the project by\ngoing through the reports and seeing things on ground on the landscape as a\nstudent of Geography. I told him that, in my opinion, NADSA is one of the best\ndevelopment concepts, if not the best, as I see, that had ever been proposed in\nthe post Independent era in this country by any Government and therefore it\nshould never be closed down as long as this country exists on earth.\u201d He looked\nat me sharply and said. \u201dSudath all the other fellows say just the opposite of\nwhat you say, either all of them are mad or you are mad.\u2019 He posed for a while\nand continued but having listened to you, I too think there is lot of truth in\nwhat you say\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From next day I\nstarted my mission by my country and the neglected Kandyan peasants with full\ndrive, determination and commitment to make this the best small farm\ndevelopment Project in this country by the end of the year and to replicate it\nto all areas with identical problems within three years as a model Agricultural\nSettlement Development Programme in South East Asia at least, if not the whole\nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there were\nserious limitations to achieving my goals such as <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Lack of\nadequate staff both in the Office as well as in the field<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Lack of\nsufficient funds, materials and equipment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 An utterly\ndepressed and demotivated set of settlers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 And above all\nobstructions from the local politicians on personal grounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example the\noffice staff was limited to an Administrative officer, an Accountant (both\nretired from public service), few clerks and 2 peons, three drivers and two\nlabourers. In the field there were about 6 Field officers to look after 15\nsettlements in two Districts. The rest had been discontinued pending the\nclosure of the project in December 1986. The vehicle flight consisted of 1\nhacked Pajero jeep. 3 rackety small Daihatsu Jeeps, one Box model Mitsubishi\nLancer old car, 2 old Lorries, all that escaped the hammer.  All development activities had come to a\nstandstill by that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 As such I realized giving a new lease of life\nto this Project was an uphill task. But considering the location of the Project\nand its objectives I was determined to take up the challenge. The next day I\nhad a staff meeting and briefed them about the situation and my proposed future\nplans in the backdrop of my understanding and what the Minister indicated to me\nfor my proposal to resurrect the Project and sought their support for my future\nplans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step\nin this process was to motivate the staff and the settlers with new hopes and\nthen to find sufficient funds to continue. My first approach was the Treasury.\nBut point blank it said no as the Government has already taken a decision to\nclose down by the year end. As an alternative with my experience in problems of\nrural development as a DRO, I met the WFP Country Director Mr Hersy in Colombo\nwith a modest Project proposal for 2.5 million US $ request. But he said the\nWFP will never agree to reopen this Project as it was a Project rejected by the\nWB as a failed project already withdrawn and it was blacklisted. I insisted\nsaying that I will give a guarantee that I can resurrect the project since it\nis one of the best development concepts ever conceived in this country since\nIndependence. He again said WFP will never agree to come back. However as I\ninsisted he finally agreed to take my proposal to Rome the following week when\nhe goes there saying just to try your luck\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my surprise\non his return he rang me up to congratulate me saying that Rome has agreed to\nreopen the Project under the new management as they were highly convinced on my\nreasoning and he wanted me to make it 5 Million as he as the country Director\ncan recommend up to 5 Million US $. In few seconds he rang me up again and said\n\u2018Don\u2019t worry Mr Gunasekara, I myself\nwill adjust the figures and as from today onwards I will treat it as one of my\nown Projects<\/strong>. That is the way I was able to convince the WFP Country\nDirector at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Subsequently I was invited to Rome for a\ndiscussion on my request and I must record it here with gratitude the support\ngiven by Mahinda Katugaha<\/strong> the then\nProcurement Manager of the WFP in  \nnegotiating this aid package and accommodating me in his apartment for\nthe two days I had to stay in Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In two months\u2019\ntime came a Project appraisal mission to appraise it along with another\nproposal for Kotmale requested by Minister Gamini Disanayaka. I did my homework\ngot an evaluative study done by Prof J.M. Gunadasa of the Peradeniya University\nsupporting my arguments on the economic viability in the Project proposal. I\nsubmitted it to the appraisal team. I also got a 35 minute video film done (\nwhere I wrote the Script) on the importance of the objectives of this Project\nand its future potentials in nation building by Dharmasena Pathiraja, a reputed\ncinema artist, called\u2019 Haritha Danavva\u201d (Green Habitat) to be shown to them on\na script by me. (This film was later awarded a merit certificate at the\nInternational Film festival held that year on eco Film International Festival\nheld in Ostrava Praha-Checholovakia on Environment) in May 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 By the time the appraisal team arrived I had\ngot the settlers to clean up their farmsteads and roads on Shramadana<\/em> basis and also got them to start on a vigorous programme\nof Development activities including planting, putting up stone hedges for soil\nconservation and even giving a new outlook to their temporary huts. Meanwhile I\nalso provided pipe born water services where ever possible. For all these\nactivities I gave them only 50% of the cost including material likes s-lon\npipes. I organized the settlers in to groups of 25 families called Pasvisi Sabaha\u2019<\/em> where they took all\ndecisions and the officials playing the role of facilitators onl, using the\nparticipatory management technique in developent. (Incidentally one person did\na study on the success story of this first Highland Farmer Organization in Sri\nLanka and got a PhD from a USA University).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the\nAppraisal team came, each member was given a docket with reading material along\nwith a copy of the Evaluative Study followed by screening the video film\nHaritha Dannvva. By this time I also got the Board of Directors reconstituted\nwith the Directors of the Departments of Agriculture, Minor Export Crops and\nthe two Government Agents of Kandy and Kegalla with senior representatives from\nthe Ministry of Agriculture and the Treasury. I also had an advisory body\nformed with eminent men like Ray Wijewardhana and Dr Waidyanatha of the University\nPeradeniya who were experts on appropriate technology and planting and Kapila\nthe first General Manager and Director and also Prof J.M Gunadasa who compiled\nthe Evaluative study. The quality of my team composed of experts in\nAgriculture, Settlement development and rural Sociology and Provincial Administration\nimpressed the appraisal team and they were convinced that I had a technically\ncompetent team to implement a Project of this nature. I also got my team to\nparticipate in field visits as facilitators to the Appraisal team. I got the\nfarmers to welcome the visitors with traditional Bulath hurulu<\/em> and in some places even by putting up traditional\npandoles with local materials which they procured from their own farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of\nthe three day field visit I hosted the Appraisal Team for lunch at the Kegalla\nRest House. While thanking them for visiting to appraise my Project I told them\nthat I am fully convinced that it is a Herculean task to take this Project\nuphill. I also told them that when I think of the constrains b efore me  and difficulties of taking it uphill it\nreminds me the famous Dover mail story that comes in Tales of Two Cities of\nCharles Dickens. I also told them that there were two horses to pull the Dover\nmail where as there is only one little horse here to pull the NADSA mail; the\ntwo horses there had eight legs whereas this horse here has only two legs; the\nmud on the Dover hill was only natural whereas here it is not only natural but\nalso political, administrative, financial and even psychological in which I am\nalready buried to the neck. However, I told them, I am determined to forge\nahead uphill nonstop until I reach the top, even if I don\u2019t get an ounce of\nAmerican flour or a grain of rice or an ounce of sugar, dhal or Dry fish from\nWFP. Team leader Arora got up and this is what he said in reply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Gunasekara\nthis is my fifth visit to this Project. What I have seen this time is something\nentirely different from what I have seen in my all previous visits. I do not\nknow what magic you have done to make this change and the brimming enthusiasm\nand hearty laughs seen on the faces of the settlers. You should not have any\ndoubts about your goal. You are already at the top of the NADSA hill and I\ndeclare on behalf of the whole team that last night we have unanimously decided\nto approve your Project Proposal and more over it is not 5 million as you have\nrequested but double that amount\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end\ninstead of 5 Million for five years I requested, they gave 12.5.million for six\nyears after their second visit having seen my video film \u2018The Miracle Basket\u201d a\nshort film made by me showing what a Great Change\u2019 the food basket has brought\nabout. At the end of that year my project was hailed as the best Small farm\nDevelopment Project in Asia funded by the WFP. By end of 1991 the assets of the\nproject went up by millions and the staff increased by hundreds as well as\nquality of service they did to the people. The vehicle fleet rose up to about\n50 including, 6 tractors, a mini bus to transport settles for training in\ndifferent places  and 48 motor cycles for\nfield officers,.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally to\neverybody\u2019s surprise the request for WFP assistance for Kotmale made by\nMinister Gamini Disanayaka, whose Ministry got 40% of the national budget at\nthat time and who was acclaimed as the Yuva Raja\u201d of the JRJ Government was\nrejected by the WFP, in spite of the fact that it was heavily supported by the\nMinister, Secretary of the Mahaweli Ministry and the Chairman of the Mahaweli\nAuthority who was also the Chairman of the ruling UNP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Third Phase   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encouraged by\nthis success I moved on to the next step of my Dream, that is expanding the\nProject to all the three Provinces around the hill country, Central, Uva and\nSabaragamuwa, under the New name Sri Lanka Harita Danau Bim Sanwardhana Madyama\nAdikariya\u201d (Sri Lanka Hadabima Adikariya) by Gazette 687\/15 of 91. Nov.7). The\nthree Provinces together formed one physiographic unit and also correspond with\nthe area covered by the Kandyan Peasantry Commission Report of 1951. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I visualized\nthis expansion with a holistic perspective of development within a broader\ngeographical area covering the entire CP, UVA and the Sabargamuwa Provinces,\ncovering about 1\/3 the area of this Island, with an approximate population of\n600 000 with the three objectives of,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, to\nprotect the Central Hill Country, the nation\u2019s mother watershed which I named\nas the The Geographical Heartland of Sri Lanka\u201d or   Bhuugoliya HADABIMA\u201d of Sinhale to save the\nentire life system in this country from its extinction and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, to\nrectify the historical injustices done to the Kandyan peasants both by the\nColonial British and the politicians of the post Independent period by\naddressing their acute problems like landlessness more fully identified by the\nKandyan Peasantry Commission Report of 1951 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly, to\nsolve their economic problems with a Diversified Agricultural Development programme\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourthly to end\nthe Estate Indian Tamil Problem in this country by opening up mixed Sinhala\nTamil settlements in the Project area on land between1000-3500 ft MSL as a model\nof ethnic reconciliation in this country and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, to\nretain this land as the LAND of the SINHALA NATION as long as the sun and moon\nshall last on this planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Premadasa lauds the HADABIMA Programme<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile\nPresident Premadasa summoned me for a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat\nalong with the Minister, Deputy and the Chairman. At that meeting he asked me 3\nquestions. a) The present position of the Project b) What I propose to do next\nand c) The assistance I need to implement the programme. My answers to his 3\nquestions were preceded by a brief description of NADSA at the time of my\ntaking over in April 1986. After listening to my briefing he asked me Why are\nthese Gampola side people so angry with you,\u201d probably referring to the regular\nobjections by the Chief Minister CP Dissanayaka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter he\nexplained the importance of this project to those present as I had outlined in\nmy concept paper I had given to him earlier on The geographical heartland of\nthe country\u201d where he quoted my statement that as much as the beat of the heart decides the fate of the man similarly\nthe physical stability of the central hill Country decides the entire life\nsystem and the civilization in the entire Island\u201d.  And finally he said gentlemen, as Sudath says\nthis is a very good Project and that is why I have decided to support it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was\nfollowed by another meeting in the Ministry of Agriculture at Peradeniya\npresided over by him and attended by the Prime Minister, Minister of\nAgriculture, Governors of the three Provinces and all the MPP and the GAA of\nthe new Project area. At that meeting after my briefing, I requested 40 million\nfor the expansion programme. After consulting Paskaralingam who was also\npresent he okayed 40 million over the counter, after I told him that I am\nplanning to settle 250 000 families under the proposed new Project area at\ncompletion in all three Provinces covered by the Kandyan Peasantry Commission.\nHe then said \u2018Sudath I have given you all what you have asked for. Now I want\nyou to start a very vigorous publicity programme\u201dAll this happened within 6 years between April 1986 to July 1992.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarming bells for local politicians<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rang up\nalarming bells for the politicians of the area of the ruling UNP. They\nimmediately started their war against me perhaps fearing that I would be a\npolitical threat to them as they always thought I was a SLFP man. The Chief\nMinister Dissanayaka CP rekindled his torch as he had been gunning at me from\nthe day I was appointed, as Director of this Project and soon the doom phase of\nthe Project began to raise its ugly head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In no time I was taken by surprise when I\nfound that I had been transferred to the pool with immediate effect within a\nweek after the famous Peradeniya meeting where the President gave me 40 million\nover the counter for the expansion I proposed without a blink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This decision of\nPremadasa not only put an end to the golden period of the HADABIMA Project but\nit also drew the curtain over the beginning of the dawn of a new era of\nphysical stability, watershed management and a Model Settlement Development programme\nfor the HAERTLAND and a new chapter in socio-economic prosperity, meaningful\nsocial integration and human contention and political stability for the whole\ncountry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(But having\nrealized perhaps his mistake, within a month President Premadasa appointed me\nas the State Secretary to the Ministry of Health after I got him convinced of\nthe dangers of a proposal before the Cabinet for the amalgamation of the\nDivisional Secretariats and Pradesiyasabha, as the President of the SLAS held\nat the BMCH in December 1992.  On behalf\nof the general membership of the SLAS I wanted the President to withdraw the\nCabinet paper to be taken up next day proposing to amalgamate the DSS and DCC\nand to appoint Divisional GAA as Secretaries to the Pradesiya Sabha Chairmen. He\nalso agreed not to appoint anyone outside the SLAS as Divisional GAA as it was\nproposed to appoint All Island Class 1 Officers as Divisional GAA by his\nGovernment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I sat down on his left after my speech he turned\ntowards me and said Sudath my congratulations; you made and excellent speech\u201d\nNext day he appointed me as the State Secretary to the Ministry of Health over\nthe phone. <\/strong>Those SLAS Officers who were there would\nremember how profusely he thanked me for pointing out the dangers of the\nproposal and he agreed to withdraw that death warrant on the SLAS. I hope all\nwill agree with me that if not for that timely intervention by me there would\nhave been no SLAS thereafter in this country, thanks to Jolly Somasundaram the\narchitect of that Cabinet paper. That is a different story altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doomsday of HADABIMA dawned after July 1992<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To revert to the\noriginal subject of HADABIMA story I will now give you how politicians again\nkilled a golden hen that would have laid not only golden eggs  but even Diamond EGGS for this nation and\ncreated a new chapter in Scientific Watershed Management, Water Resource Development,\nSettlement Development, economic and socio cultural renaissance and finally,\nbrought about lasting political stability to this Island nation by solving the\ncanker that is The Indian Estate Tamil Problem\u201d forever in this country, had\nmy proposal been carried out to its logical conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doom day of\nthe HADABIMA project dawned after I left in July 1992. Dharmadasa Banda and\nWasantha Udayaratna, the duo, played DR Jekyll and Hyde until D.M. Jayaratna\ntook over as the Minister in 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D M Jayaratna\nthe then Minister of Agriculture appointed one of his close relations H .M\nGodamunna a grocery shop owner from Gampola at the Doluwa junction wef 1994. 9.\n15. This political goon Chairman functioned as the Chairman for 6 long years up\nto 2002.12. 31. Meanwhile Jayaratna  got\nthe President to appoint a one man Presidential Commission under G.L M De Silva\non 1994 Nov 7 to find fault with my period. But to his dismay he found none. On\nthe contrary the Commission Chairman in his long Report hailed the achievements\nduring my period 1986- 1992. Which has\ngone down as the golden period of HADABIMA Project and also as the only period during\nwhich the objectives of the Project were addressed to and even surpassing the\noriginal objectives by opening vistas of new development both objectives and\ndevelopment approaches and finally converting it to an internationally\nacclaimed major small farmer development national project   covering 1\/3 of the Island comprising three\nProvinces   Central, Uva and Ratnapura\nincluding 3 Divisional Secretaries Divisions from Ampare District as well, by\nend of 1992 (Se G.L.M De Silva Report 1995)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty eight\nyears after I left it, today sadly only the name HADABIMA I gave is left. None\nof the objectives of the original fathers of either the NADSA as envisaged in\nearly 1970s or that broad national vision I conceived and perceived in late\n1980s on the enormous potentialities of this important Project for nation\nbuilding are active there now. Just like most other Government Projects, It\nalso has got reduced to another semi-Government Institution that provides\nlucrative and remunerative political jobs to satisfy those who pretend to have\nhelped the ruling party at elections to come to power. All this is done at\npublic expense with no contribution at all to national development. The politicians who always put politics\nfirst without any concern for nation building, in my opinion are mainly\nresponsible for this tragedy. No wonder the richest country next to Japan in\nAsia in 1948 has today fallen even below Afghanistan. When are we going to\nrescue this country from this political mess<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after I\nleft in 1992 this Authority functioned under the Ministry of Agriculture up to 2016 but sadly again it went back to the\npre-1986 situation and became a heaven for politicians and their unscrupulous\nhenchmen to find employment and enjoy benefits although they had no clue of the\nbasic objectives or the values of this all important national project.<\/strong> They were only concerned in making a fast\nbug and reaping the harvest of what I had planted enjoying the benefits of\ntheir official positions like big salaries and remunerations, official vehicles\n with drivers and petrol to attend to all\ntheir personal needs, doing nothing for the Project  or the people who pay their salaries<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was assigned\nto the Ministry of Regional Development from 18th March 2016. That enabled\nMinister Fonseka\u2019s relation and henchman Lalindra Nagahtenna to function from\nColombo as Chairman, for whom Fonseka created a new office in Colombo, as the\nHead office of HADABIMA. Now it has been\nconverted to an all Island Project by the Gazette notification No. 2026\/45\npublished on 07th July 2017<\/strong>. This\nwas done firstly, to cover up financial misappropriation committed by its\nChairmen, Board members and even officials in travelling all over the island,\noutside its area of authority between 1992 and 2017.<\/strong> Because as we know you\ncan\u2019t spend public funds for any work or travelling outside the area of its\nlegitimate operation unless one has the approval of the Secretary of the\nMinistry concerned to travel or do any special business outside the area of its\nlegitimate authority. Doesn\u2019t this display the scale of corruption and abuse of\nauthority by all those who have handled this Project ever since 1992? These\nhaphazard changes clearly evince the inability to understand the basic\nobjectives of the Project for which it was established in 1978 as NADSA.\nPolitical objectives getting precedence over development and creating\nunproductive jobs for their men and providing more facilities like vehicles and\nenhanced travelling appear to have overtaken the development objectives of the\nProject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also\ncreated a post of Deputy Chairman and allowed him to function from Hambantota\nas he happened to be a person from that area. That is how they have abused\npolitical power and misappropriated public funds and ruined this Project over\nthe past 28 years. Of the 15 Chairmen\nfrom 1992 to date there wasn\u2019t a single professional man who knew the job and\nwho had contributed a penny worth of service to the people or the country that\nhas spent billions out of public funds. Of the post 1992 Chairmen one was a\ngrocery shop keeper. Another, a VC chairman and all other political goons\neither family members of the Ministers at the time or henchmen who carry\nfirewood and water for them, who made the hay while the sun shines. One among\nthem was a defeated politician, a JVP man turned SLFP who held the post of\nChairman for ten years enjoying the fruits of my labour and who had done\nnothing to take forward the vision and mission I introduced in 1991.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gazette\nnotification No. 2026\/45 published on 07th  \nJuly 2017 enabling its functions to cover the whole island has brutally\nkilled its original objectives designed to serve a specific geographical area\nand a specific purpose for very good reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I have\nnarrated this appalling and sad story to the country in order to bring this to\nthe notice of the President and the Prime Minister and the general public so\nthat they will take suitable measures at least now, before it is completely\nruined by unscrupulous political appointees for which the final responsibility\nwill come on the President and the Minister of Agriculture.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In its\nlong history from 1978 to date it had been run by 15 Chairmen and more than 20\nDirectors. All the Chairmen were political appointees with no qualification to\nold such responsible positions and in two occasions defeated at elections with\nno job. I challenge any one to pick one Chairman out of the whole lot who knew\nthe ABCD of this Project or has planted a single manioc bush for all the\nprivileges and benefits they have enjoyed as Pin<\/em> Chairmen at enormous public costs.<\/strong> During my whole period\nof 6 years from 2.4.1986 to July 17 1992, though there were two Chairmen\n(N.V.K.K Weragoda; Ministry Secretary and Wasantha Udayaratna a defeated\npolitician) it was I who ran the show single handed  with no contribution from them but the\nsupport of a very competent professional Board of Directors selected by me\nconsisting of GAA, Heads of Departments, a senior Treasury rep and another\nSenior Ministry rep and Experts in relevant fields sans any political cogs and converted it to a world class Small Farmer\nDevelopment Project in Sri Lanka recognized as the best among such in Asia by\nthe WFP in 1991. But to my great disappointment, besides President Premadasa\nand Lalith Atulatmudali none has recognized the contribution I made to this Project,\nup to date.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The degree of International recognition of my\nachievements was further marked with invitations to present two papers on the\nsuccess story of NADSA in Laos and Bangkok in February 1991 and April in 1993.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only\ncontribution, rather the service, the Chairmen did during my 6 years was to\nsign the monthly Board minutes. Other than that they only physically presided\nover the Board meeting, enjoyed the tea in addition to collecting their Board\npayments, salaries and other stipends of office. Regarding the Directors I\nreally do not know how they worked with these illiterate political goons. But one thing I know very well is none of\nthem have been able to at least maintain the levels to which I had brought this\nProject apart from doing anything creative and beneficial to the settlers or\nthe country. I now understand the present Government has appointed another\npolitical pick who has no understanding of the Project. It is strange that this\nwas the man who was appointed as Chairman for I year term (2004-205) by Anura\nkumara Disanayaka of the JVP. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However I must\nmake it very clear here that I am not asking for a job by pointing out these\nblunders.  I am only requesting the\nPresident to rescind the 2017 gazette on HADABIMA and confine its activities to\nthe project area defined by the 1991 gazette and appoint someone who can\nunderstand the ABCD of this Project. In\nthe process, if the President cannot find a suitable person I am prepared to\ntake over HADABIMA as it\u2019s Head as the founding father of this wonderful\nProject. In the event the President wants my services, I shall work WITHOUT a\nSALARY<\/strong> with full commitment,\ndedication and determination until I put it back on its wheels as I  had dreamt in late 1980s within 2 or 3 years\nthe most and I shall make it the best development Project in this country and a\nmodel public enterprise by paving the way to realize the following objectives\nwithin five years, after training a likeminded team of true public servants in\nthe sphere of District and Divisional Administration within the Project area\nwith maximum public participation in development and make history in the\ndevelopment annals of post independent era of this country in people centered\ndevelopment, for everyone to see as to how a public institution should be run\nunder Sinhala Buddhist ethos and perception for the benefit of the many and for\nthe happiness of the many.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Get all the land above 5000 ft. declared as a\nstrictly prohibited National Forest Reserve, a Thahanchi kele <\/em>as it was done by our ancient Kings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Get the HADABIMA (> 1000 ft. MSL) protected as\nthe Nations Heart to guarantee that the life system and Civilization in this\ncountry is not endangered and it will last as the sun and moon shall rise over\nthis land.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Get 250 000 self-sustained farmer families settled\nwithin the Project area on 2 \u00bd acre model farm lots<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Obtain WFP Food assistance for 6 years, under the\nmotto, Food for Development\u201d to sustain these farm families, (as I did from\n1991-1992) until they are on their own feet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Draw up a programme to cover the entire HADAMIMA\nwith natural forest and Agro forests (Kandyan Forest gardens below 3500 ft) to\narrest soil erosion and land degradation endangering biodiversity and to make\nall streams perennial<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 Once again restore the Central Hill Country as the\nnation\u2019s biggest natural reservoir\u201d, and the best hideout in the country and\nmake all the 103 rivers starting on these hills perennial, increase water flow\nin all the rivers and minimize flood and silting in downstream areas and make\nat least the major rivers like Kelani (up to Yatiyantota rapids as it had been\nbefore 1815) and Mahaweli and Kalu ganga as in ancient times<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in Hydro Electricity,\nminimizing dependency on thermal power and if possible make it a Hydro Power\nexporting country. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 Make Sri Lanka a water exporting country in future\nas I have stated in my paper on Vision and Mission on Water Management\u201d in Sri\nLanka. (in the Island 17th Monday 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 Rectify all the historical injustices done to over\n600 000 Kandyan peasants by the British and all Governments since the so-called\nIndependence in 1948<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 End the all- important pestering Indian Tamil\nproblem in the hill country by establishing Sinhala-Tamil mixed settlement\nschemes below 3500 ft. MSL with the final goal of integrating all of them under\nthe Nehru\/Kotalawala Agreement of 1954 with the main stream, as full citizens\nof this country and stop an Indian Tamil Malayadu being formed on the nations\ngeographical Heartland.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 Get a band of 1000 youth male and female organized\nto implement this programme voluntarily over a period of 6 years until its\ncompletion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 Persuade the Government to enact laws to implement\nthis programme effectively and severely punish those who violate them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 As the man who resurrected a once dead and\nburied project (NADSA) between 1986-1992 \nthat was rejected, discarded, blacklisted and money withdrawn in early\n1980s by the World Bank and decided to close it down by end of 1986 for\npolitical and management failures, I am deeply concerned and agitated by the\npresent sad plight it has fallen in to. After resurrecting it from its abysmal\ndepths and scratches during a short period \nof 3 years, I gave it a new lease of life, even before the golden period\nof this Project emerged between 1989-1992 with WFP assistance. Lalith Atulathmudalai the then Minister of\nAgriculture on his first visit in Dec 1991 to this Project described it as the\nbest small farm project in Sri Lanka at that time, incidentally which he\ndescribed as the best example in the whole world where the poor is made\npoorer\u2019 just one month before that date at a Heads of Departments meeting held\nat the ARTI. The WFP followed suit by naming it as the best small farm project\nin Asia in 1992.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having\nresurrected this dead Project from its grave by awakening a set of utterly\ndisappointed and dejected 35,000 farmers to a highly motivated group of farmers\nwith new hopes, I got 12.5 US$ million grant from the WFP and fed them three\nmeals a day for six years, (that is 2.5 billion meals) from 1991\u20141992, with the\nslogan Food for development\u201d. Coupled with a vigorous development plan I\nuplifted the standard of living of these men and women amidst immense political\nobstruction from the ruling UNP and got its area of authority expanded to cover\nthe entire CP, UVA  and the Sabaragamuva\nprovinces in 1992, in spite of the objections by the Minister Dharmadasa Banda.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the first man\nwho pointed out the crucial dependence of the Island\u2019s entire life system and\nits civilization on the physical stability of the Central Hill Country, as its\n\u2018GEOGRAPHICAL HEARTLAND, and proposed a foolproof proposal to save the HADBIMA with\nthe lessons learnt from large scale deforestation done by the British and\nsubsequent destructions done by our own politician since the so-called\nIndependence, I am deeply grieved the way this Project had been destroyed and\nvandalized by native politicians and their stooges from 1992 to date for\npolitical expediencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 None of them\nhad brain to understand the crucial role of the HADABIMA for the survival of a\nnation and the need to protect it for the next generation. None of the Chairmen\nunder both UNP and SLFP regimes during this period (1992-2020) also had the\ncapacity to understand the real value of this important Project and none has\ndone a penny worth thing to protect it. All of them are either defeated\npoliticians or political bats who change their party affiliations with every\nelection and creep  in to these positions\njust to collect the money they spend on candidates and rob these institutions.\nThey all have only enjoyed the benefits of office inherited from my perilous\neffort for six years. Beside mismanaging it and enjoying the benefits at public\nexpense they have killed a hen laying golden eggs and also made it unmanageable\nand unrealistic by expanding its activities to areas outside its legal\noperational area of the three Provinces set by the Sri Lanka Hadabima Authority\nAct of 1991, which I got passed in spite of Minister of Agriculture\nDharmadasabanda objecting to it openly. Most of the Chairmen with the exception\nof one or two have robbed and destroyed the project proving the famous Sinhala\nsaying<\/strong> Uran\nkekeuna talapuwama Hamban kukulanta magul\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This illegal\nexpansion they did by Gazette notification No. 2026\/45 published on 07th July\n2017 firstly, to cover up their gross financial misappropriations done for 25\nyears since 1992 to 2017, running about all over the country like Hambantota in\nthe extreme South and Vavuniya in the North, outside its legal area of\noperation and secondly, to justify new recruitments loaded to the cadre for\npolitical favoritism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One last appeal to the President<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this appalling backdrop I earnestly appeal to the\npresent President <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First to appoint a professional, keeping with his\nelection promises, who can understand the lofty objectives of this Project and\nwho can carry them to their logical conclusion and <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, to appoint a Presidential Commission to\ninquire in to the misdeeds of all Chairmen of this Project from its inception\nin 1978 to date to at least learn a lesson, if he does not want to punish the\nrogues, as to how a public Institution should be run profitably for the benefit\nof the nation and what type of people should be appointed to Head them. So\nthat   the findings could be used, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, to use it as a case study as to find out what\nreally ails all public Corporations and Authorities in this country<\/strong> and why almost all of them\nhave failed to fulfill the original purpose of creating them in order to reduce\ndelays or circumvent bureaucratic barriers like ARR and FRR as the vocal\npolitician envisaged when they were created in early 1960s.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, to find out as to how a public Corporation\/Institution\ncould and should function to serve the people<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly how could they be run profitably so that they\nwant be a burden to the national economy and how could they be converted to be\nengines of growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, why all these public Corporations and\nStatutory Bodies have failed to fulfill their targets and what remedial\nmeasures the Government must take to rectify these deficiencies and convert\nthem to lay golden eggs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I suggest this paper could be used as the first presentation at the opening session of \u00a0the proposed Presidential Commission)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara (SLAS) Retired Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, President Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association (1991-1994) and President Mahanuwara Sinhala Bauddha Jesta Puravesiyange Sanvidhanaya. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara (SLAS) Retired Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, This is a desperate plea made by me, to all concerned, as the man who started the Sri Lanka HADABIMA Authority in 1991 to Save the HADABIMA of Sri Lanka\u201d (The Geographical Heartland of this country) using the lessons learnt from my 5 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sudath-gunasekara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}