Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday challenged the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to manage their garbage collection in the Colombo Municipal area from the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC).
“Let the CMC undertake its garbage management if it is strong enough to do so,” the Minister said.
The Minister was responding to the allegations levelled against the SLLRDC by Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake that the SLLRDC is extorting payment for garbage management.
Minister Ranawaka said that the Ministry would not hesitate to immediately hand over the responsibility of garbage management to any Local Government authority.
“Not only the CMC, but also any other Local Government authority including the Kaduwela Town Council can undertake the responsibility of managing their own garbage. We would never hesitate to hand over the responsibility to those authorities,” he said.
“At the time Colombo was affected by mountains of garbage, our Ministry came forward and took the responsibility of garbage management. Because of our intervention, Colombo is free from dengue and garbage now. We should be praised for it,” the Minister said.
However, if the Colombo Mayor and the CMC has any mechanism to manage the garbage collected from the Colombo Municipality, the Ministry is ready to hand over that responsibility even from today, the Minister said.