Last week, the Urban Development Authority of this government canceled a gazette of 29 urban development plans brought by the previous government.
This gazette was to be operational from 2020 to 2030. This was gazetted in October 2019 with the signature of the then Minister in charge of the Urban Development Authority, Patali Champika.
Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa says that the gazette had to be canceled due to the hasty action taken to obtain political propaganda in the run up to the election.
He said that the relevant approval had not been obtained in consultation with the local government bodies and steps had been taken to cancel this semi-complete gazette as the regulations had not been completed.
He said that planning is not something that can be done in a hurry and that an urban development plan should be implemented after consulting with the relevant authorities, including the local authorities, obtaining approval and completing all the required regulations.
He said that these plans will not be wasted and will be carried out in due course