Wildlife holiday bungalows to be upgraded

Colombo, July 22 (Daily Mirror) - The government has planned to upgrade holiday bungalows managed by the Departments of Wildlife Conservation and Forest Conservation, using modern technology to provide improved facilities for the public. 

The matter was discussed during a meeting held this afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to review the progress of projects implemented under the 2026 budget allocations for the Ministry of Environment and to discuss proposals for the 2027 Budget. 

The President instructed officials to take the maximum possible measures to protect the rapidly developing Northern and Eastern coastlines. 

The President also directed that the strongest possible legal action be taken to prevent unauthorised constructions after coastal development, noting that such activities cause significant damage to the coastline. 

The President further instructed that a steering committee be appointed to oversee and monitor these efforts.  

The meeting also extensively reviewed the progress of projects implemented by the Ministry of Environment under the theme “A Thriving Nation - A Beautiful Life, A Sustainable Biosphere – A Green Life", with a total budget allocation of Rs. 19,719 million, as well as the Ministry's plans for 2027, the President's Media Division (PMD) said. 

The meeting reviewed the progress of recurrent and capital expenditure incurred in 2026 by institutions under the Ministry of Environment, including the Central Environmental Authority, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Forest Department, Department of National Zoological Gardens, Department of National Botanic Gardens, the Water Resources Board, Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management and the Marine Environment Protection Authority. 

The President also instructed that an expert committee be appointed to examine possible measures to prevent coastal erosion along the Oluvil coastline and to submit its report at the earliest opportunity. 

The President paid particular attention to the progress of projects implemented under the 2026 Budget to mitigate the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. 

The President pointed out that the slow implementation of these projects poses a direct threat to human lives and stressed that delays are unacceptable when the necessary budgetary provisions have already been allocated. 

Emphasising the need to be sensitive to the lives and livelihoods of the rural communities, President Dissanayake instructed officials to complete these projects within the stipulated time frame and to fully utilise the budget allocations made for this year by carrying out the relevant construction and implementation activities before the end of the year. 

The President further emphasised that the location and extent of elephant fences should be determined based on the need to protect human lives rather than merely to demarcate wildlife zones.