Urgent plea for fair development

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 April 1999, 18:48 GMT]
An urgent plea has been made to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge asking her to lift the suspension on the implementation of DERBA development projects funded by the Norwegian government, in the Batticaloa district.

Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, Member of Parliament for the Batticaloa district, has made this plea in a letter sent to the President on Wednesday.

The implementation of the projects in the Batticaloa district has been suspended after five years following a directive issued by the President that no development works under the DERBA programme should be undertaken in the LTTE controlled areas of the Batticaloa district.

Mr.Parajasingham in his latest correspondence with the President has said: " I am at a loss to understand when irrigation projects under the World Bank aid, crash programmes under the Rehabilitation Ministry funds and works undertaken under the decentralised budget with money allocated by the members of parliament of the district are allowed to be implemented in the areas controlled by Tigers, why this discrimination when it comes to projects to be undertaken under the Norwegian government aided DERBA programme"

He has requested the President to grant an appointment for the members of parliament of the Batticaloa district to meet her to place more facts in this regard.