Sri Lanka's North and East get bigger share of development aid

Jun 05,  A major share of the development aid Sri Lanka receives from lending agencies is being diverted to the development of the war-torn North and East, the government said today.

Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said 60 percent of the aid given by lending agencies had been diverted for the development of the former LTTE rebel controlled North and East.
The Minister revealed this at a function held in Nedunkerni recently to launch a project to construct a new Regional Agricultural Centre with foreign assistance.
Minister Rajapaksa said the government has taken every measure to expedite the development in the war-torn region as the President has directed the authorities to resettle all the displaced people in their original places by August 2010.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has assigned his senior adviser, Minister Rajapaksa to head the development drive in the North and to meet the August deadline for resettlement.
The government said according to latest information received from the Government Agents of the northern districts of Vavuniya and Mullaitivu the target can be met within the specified time period.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month pledged to continue its support for the Government's post-war reconstruction and development programs.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda who visited the country last month assured the government of ADB's ongoing assistance for the country's efforts to rebuild basic infrastructure, especially in the war-affected Northern and Eastern provinces after the end of the war last May.