Welioya goes to Mullaitivu

17 October 2011 07:30 pm

For administrative purposes the government has placed the Welioya Divisional Secretariat under the purview of the Mullaitivu District Secretariat and separated it from the Anuradhapura District, officials said yesterday.

They said this was done as part of a plan to re-demarcate the boundaries of all the Grama Seva Divisions and the Divisional Secretariats in the country.

Welioya is an area occupied by a Sinhala population of 9004 and during the war it was administered by the District Secretary of Anuradhapura because Mullaitivu was not accessible to the people at the time.

The Public Administration Ministry has appointed a committee comprising several former District Secretaries to make recommendations for the re-demarcation of boundaries of all the Divisional Secretaries and the Grama Seva Divisions in the country and the creation of new ones if and where necessary.
 
Ministry Secretary P.B. Abeykoon said the committee would submit its report with all necessary recommendations before the end of this year. He said the committee was expected to visit all the districts and to identify the areas to be demarcated with new boundaries.

When asked whether a new district would be created, he ruled out such a possibility at this time.
 
A Welioya Divisional Secretariat official said the District Secretary of Mullaitivu had been overseeing the administrative affairs of Welioya for the last two months. 

Vavuniya District Secretary P.S.M. Charles said she had asked for the establishment of two more Divisional Secretariats in her district for administration purposes.

“Re-demarcation of boundaries is needed everywhere in the country. For example, there is a divisional secretariat for 100 Grama Seva Divisions in one particular area whereas there is one for 50 Grama Seva Divisions in another area. These disparities exist all over the country, not in the north and the east alone. We have to sort them out,” she said.  

Batticaloa District Secretary S. Arumainayagam said the committee would meet him on October 24 to discuss on the changes and requirements in his district in this respect. He said that some local politicians had put forward their proposals asking for new divisional secretariats. (Kelum Bandara)