The Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management (CCCRM) denied the allegations levelled against the controversial million-rupee-worth beach nourishment programme claiming that only the beach phase of Mount Lavinia had been washed away. As told to the media by CCCRM Director General B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi, the cost of the Mount Lavinia beach stretch was around Rs. 110 million, and the total cost of the project was Rs. 890 million. Defending the beach nourishment programme, the CCCRM denied the allegations of failure of the entire project, also claiming that the Government fund spent for the Mount beach stretch has not gone to waste. The Director General said there was no truth to the allegation that Rs. 890 million worth of sand was washed away. The million-rupee project came to light last week after images of the stretch of the Mount beach that was washed away to the sea began to circulate on social media. According to the CCCRM, the purpose of the programme was to artificially nourish the stretch of the eroding beach extending from Mount Lavinia to Dehiwala. As said by the CCCRM Director General, the Cabinet approval for the project was received on 8 May 2018 and the current Cabinet approved the awarding of the contract to the Danish company in January this year. Meanwhile, CCCRM Senior Engineer of Coastal Design and Research Sujeewa Ranawaka said the project was planned and implemented by the CCCRM, which was under then Minister of Environment President Maithripala Sirisena. “The Cabinet decision to go ahead with this project was taken on 22 January this year by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government, and it was carried out in March through Rohde Nielsen. It was rushed through during the curfew because there would’ve been opposition from the local fishing community,” Ranawaka noted. However, in January this year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the awarding of a € 4.4 million contract for beach nourishment, based on a proposal submitted by the Minister of Environment and Wildlife Resources. It was planned to dredge sand from the deep sea to nourish a stretch of the beach spanning Angulana to Mount Lavinia as well a the Calido beach in Kalutara. By Maheesha Mudugamuwa