There has been a significant increase in the municipal council grant allocation for all drainage work around urban boundaries.
During the commissioning of the Lakena-Manoca Drainage Improvement Work, Waterways Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy highlighted the $69 million dollars allocation in the new financial year is an increase of $40m from their 2017/2018 budget.
“We have increased threefold the budget that we will allocate to municipal councils. Last year, the total municipal council grant was $1.2 million. This year it is going above three million.”
Dr Reddy says the Ministry will undertake several new programmes for the upcoming financial year.
He says last year the Ministry only provided drainage work around sugarcane fields, however, this year the Ministry will undertake all drainage work around agriculture field.
He adds the ministry also has a separate allocation for rural settlements and village for drainage work.
He adds $14 million has also been allocated for coastal and river bank protection projects.
Dr Reddy says the ministry has identified 34 sites for coastal and river bank protection in the 2018-2019 budget.
