Inconvenience is inevitable during development

Development of the Colombo City was a result of team work by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development and the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) with the assistance of the World Bank, Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil, said in response to a question raised by the Daily Mirror in an interview. The Mayor added that he and the CMC were also a party of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Following are the excerpts of the Interview:


 
Q: You took over the CMC two years ago - what was it like then?
 If you recall what the Colombo City was like two years ago and see what it looks like today, you will able to understand what the Municipal Council was like at that time. Before I took over the Council it was managed by an Independent Group and the situation was so bad that it was in total disarray. Then it was governed by a special commissioner, after it was suspended by the then Chief Minister. Although I was elected by the UNP I had to look at the ground reality. Without compromising the mandate given to me I had to work with the government in implementing the development work envisaged by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Authority. This was important to the development of Colombo city. The City belongs to the entire population of the country, especially for the development of trading and tourism.




 
Q: The general public is of the view that all development work has been done by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. Is there any work carried out by the CMC and is there anything that could be called your brain child?
One cannot deny that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, without looking at the political structure of the city has conceptualised a farsighted development plan in the city and has achieved it. The CMC cannot work single handedly. Therefore we teamed up with the Urban Development Authority which was able to secure a loan of $ 70 million from the World Bank. The engineering department of the CMC is in the planning, designing and implementing of the development plan.  The funds were utilised in consultation with the CMC. Besides, the CMC has undertaken counter-development work in the city worth $ 10 million.




 
Q: Can you elaborate on the counter-development work the CMC has done?
We have done the carpeting of Bullers Road, Horton Place, Wijerama Mawatha, Malalasekera Mawatha, Havelock Road, Reid Avenue and Vidya Mawatha. All public walkways on these roads were done by us. Accordingly, we have done around 20 km of roads, the walkways and also the landscaping. In addition we have also done the laying of drainage pipes and cables along Duplication Road. Besides that we have constructed eight new public lavatories.




 
Q: Are you reconstructing all the roads? We still see workers doing up the roads and the people are inconvenienced, especially in the Town Hall Square?
 More than 95 percent of the work is over now, but people will have to bear with us for a few more days. Inconvenience is inevitable. All the work will be over in time for the CHOGM.




 
Q: What are the projects undertaken by the CMC in connection with the CHOGM?
 We have contributed by doing up the roads including Horton Place. We did it by ourselves. We maintained the best of standards. We have also done the walkways.




 
Q: There is an allegation that people in some areas have been asked to colour-wash their walls for the CHOGM; is there any truth in it?
 We have asked the people to clean up their surroundings and many have responded positively and have cleaned up their surroundings. They have also painted their parapet walls.
 

Q: By the way, are you participating in the CHOGM as the first citizen of the city?
 The CMC has undertaken development work in connection with the CHOGM. In that sense I can say I have participated in it. But I will participate in the ceremonies if I am invited. I am invited to the birthday party of Prince Charles and I will be participating in that.




 
Q: There was an issue with the contractor of the Town Hall Square development project; what was it about?
 The work of the project was progressing slowly and we had to negotiate with him. The main issue was that he did not have enough manpower. Therefore the Defence Ministry provided manpower to assist him in the form of civil defence force members. Now the work is almost completed.




 
Q: Was there another issue with the Municipal Commissioner as well?
 That was an administrative matter. It was all about a motion which had been passed in the early 1980s which suppressed the powers of the council. We have now put things right. The Council has given Rs. 7 million to each member of the Council, as we function through a decentralised budget. We needed to help the Council members get on with various development projects, and now they are doing it.





Q: What are future plans with regard to development of the city?
 We hope to start the work of World Bank Public Convenience Package 2 soon. Under this the Duplication road would be extended up to the Roxy cinema. Other than that there would be two overhead bridges which are going to be first of its kind. One will be from the Bambalapitiya Station to Galle Road and the other from the Kollupitiya Station to Dharmapala Mawatha. Only pedestrians will be allowed to use these bridges. They will be able to get to the railway station, avoiding traffic. This would also link up the rail and the bus transport in the city, as the people would be able to come by train and get on a bus and vice-versa, using these new bridges. We would be spending US $ 400 million on these two bridges.





 
Q: How about the bus stands? We see some new bus stands that have come up in the city.
 Yes, we have given that contract to the army. But we have a greater plan for the future; we will design bus halts which would be IT-driven. Accordingly, the route numbers of buses that would stop at a particular bus stand would be displayed on a digital screen in each bus stand. We are also thinking of an IT-driven network that would link up all bus stands, and a newsstand and food stall in each bus stand. There would be 100 such bus stands in the city.




 
Q: Any other development projects?
Yes, we have also undertaken to re-construct some super markets including the one in Dematagoda and Nagalangam Street. We want to make Colombo city free of street venders by the year 2014. We will also construct two beach parks, one on Crow Island and the other on the Marine Drive.




 
Q: People always complain that they have to waste a long time at the Town Hall when they come to get something done, such as getting a plan passed. What could you do about it?
 People had been making this complaint for a long time even before I took over. We realise that something has to be done about it. We have to seriously think of expediting our services to the public. We will be more people-oriented especially during the public day on Wednesdays. Besides, we are constructing a new administrative building and will shift some of our departments there. Then we will be able to provide a better service.