• RDA affirms only a proposal By Sarah Hannan As communities across the island are easing into normalcy, the country’s development projects too seem to be jumpstarting, with everyone eager to speed up the country’s economic development. Although curfew in the Colombo District is not fully lifted at the moment, the biggest problem arises once the travel between districts is lifted and the entire workforce and school system are required to return to the cities. With that, the commute time will automatically increase and the time spent on the road too will increase. Over the years, several alternative routes interconnecting bridges have been constructed and developed in the Colombo District, out of which only a very few have managed to address the real problem of traffic congestion. Many that were completed recently have in fact increased congestion, thus creating gridlocks at junctions and clogging the arteries of the city’s road network. In this backdrop, The Sunday Morning learnt about a proposed bridge suggested to be constructed to connect the Nawala Road and Kotte Road to ease the traffic on the Sri Jayewardenepura Mawatha from the Ethul Kotte Junction to the Rajagiriya Junction. The bridge is proposed to run from Angampitiya and reach the area which adjoins School Lane and School Avenue in Nawala. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Panduka Keerthinanda, a resident and representative of the Save School Lane and School Avenue Initiative, said: “The residents of the area became aware of this proposed bridge project when over 40 vehicles of officials, building contractors, and other personnel visited the area during the Covid-19 curfew restriction last week for an alleged pre-bid inspection meeting. The only question in the minds of all our residents was of the urgency of such actions during these troubled times.” Keerthinanda and seven other representatives, who are also residents of School Lane and School Avenue, had written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 10 May requesting him to look into this. “We were granted a meeting with the President’s Private Secretary, who then made arrangements for us to meet with the Road Development Authority (RDA) officials. The officials were kind enough to meet with our team and they explained to us the proposed bridge project. However, when we requested for the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and then the project proposal for the bridge, they did not have the documents available,” Keerthinanda added. Rich in biodiversity School Lane and School Avenue are very quiet residential areas within the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Municipality. The Nawala Kotte marsh next to School Avenue has a habitat categorised to be “Annona Woodlands” and is directly linked to the Kolonnawa Canal. It is herb-dominant, low vegetation land and has multidirectional water flows. The fishing cat, purple-faced leaf monkey, black marsh dart, porcupine, star tortoise, and Ceylon blue glassy tiger butterfly, to name a few, are some of the interesting species found in this wetland. Nawala wetlands have been identified as a possible future biodiversity observatory under the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project and is important for storing water that would otherwise cause flood risk. The Save School Lane and School Avenue Initiative strongly believes that this project has not met the basic criteria of an EIA, Traffic Congestion Management Report (traffic is heavy on this road during school hours as School Lane houses the Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya), not entertaining a low-cost alternative route which may result in reduced cost to the State, a stakeholder consultation, and any other legal requirements related to such a project, and also suspects a substantial element of corruption and irregular procedure. Effect on environment The representatives from the Save School Lane and School Avenue Initiative also pointed out that if the project is initiated, it can have an effect on the surrounding environment, given that it is a wetland rich in biodiversity. Moreover, there could be considerable social disruption and social conflict due to loss of livelihood and the need to relocate if and when affected by this new road construction. This will cause pressure on relocation of affected communities, which will impact the people living in the affected area. Activities such as site clearing, construction of the road and the bridge, mining of boulders, removal of trees and green cover vegetation, etc. will potentially impact the ecological resources of the area by means of disturbing habitat. However, increasing soil erosion and surface runoff may be triggered as a result. Egrets, water herons, kingfishers, etc. that were observed feeding in the adjoining marshy land may also be disturbed with the loud noises and vibration associated with construction work. The effect on aquatic fauna in the water canal can occur in case an accidental oil spill or toxic chemical release finds its way into the water body during construction and operation. Recommendations Most of the people may be lacking the knowledge on the impacts of environmental factors including social and economic factors. Therefore, a programme to create awareness should have been arranged. It recommends that public consultation is carried out prior to the start of the project to ensure issues are resolved. The public consultation meeting provides an opportunity for the general public as well as private and community bodies to know the environmental and social impacts of implementing the project. Thus, the meeting should be arranged for residents of the area and public sector and private sector agencies that are concerned with the project prior to deciding on it. The major purpose of public consultation is to identify the environmental issues in the IEE an EIA studies and to appraise the stakeholders on potential environmental impacts. This will provide an opportunity to collect their feedback so that adequate safeguards can be considered during the planning phases. RDA to discuss further When contacted, RDA Director General Kamal Amaraweera said that this is a proposed project and the team visited the site for an observation. “We are yet to commence obtaining the required documentation. Following our visit to the area, the residents raised concerns and we had a meeting with them to explain that this project is only being considered.” Amaraweera affirmed that prior to commencing the project, the necessary EIA, Traffic Congestion Management Report, etc. will be obtained and the authority will allow the public to share their concerns as well. Meanwhile, representatives of the Save School Lane and School Avenue Initiative reiterated that they are not opposing to the development projects and by no means intending to halt the project. All they want is to see that the RDA and the institutions that are granted the construction contract will have the relevant documentation and allow the public to address their concerns after being given access to the relevant reports.