CEB said ignoring Trincomalee electrification

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 December 2003, 15:58 GMT]
The Ministry of Power and Energy came in for severe criticism Monday at this year's last meeting of the Trincomalee District Co-ordinating Committee (DCC) for not implementing a single electrification project in the Trincomalee district although a sum of 3.8 million rupees had been allocated for the year 2003 under the decentralized budget for such projects.

Mr.R.Sampanthan, the Trincomalee district parliamentarian, presiding over the DCC meeting held at the Trincomalee district secretariat Monday, said that earlier there was a Deputy General Manager (DGM) of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) stationed in Trincomalee and the electricity development works in the district had been implemented in time without delay. After the Trincomalee district CEB office had been brought under the administration of the Anuradhapura DGM of the CEB, no electrification development work had been implemented in the district during the year 2003 even after vast sums of money had been allocated for such projects.

"I do not know why the Power and Energy Ministry had brought the administration of the Trincomalee CEB office in the northeast province under the CEB Deputy General Manager in Anuradhapura, which is located in the north central province, despite protest by me. The ministry has not replied to my protest. I do not know any reason why Trincomalee district should suffer for this blunder made by the ministry concerned," said Mr.Sampanthan.

He wanted the DCC to adopt a resolution requesting to appoint a separate (DGM) to Trincomalee district CEB office to attend matters relating to electrification projects in the district without depending on Anuradhapura DGM.