Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-11-05

Renovation of the Abandoned Rural Tanks

- In accordance with the database of the minor irrigation system and primary water sources of the Department of Agrarian Development, 14,421 tanks are in a state of operation at present and it has been identified that 1958 rural tanks have been abandoned on the grounds of internal conflicts and the spread of infectious diseases. It is anticipated that around a new cultivable extent of 97,900 acres can be cultivated by renovating these tanks. Further, taking also into consideration the benefits they provide for the nourishment of the ground water resources and to improve the forest cover and the wild life in the waste lands, the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Agriculture, to renovate the tanks which are technically confirmed as suitable for renovation, was approved by the Cabinet.