'Economic progress of former war zone had slowed down'

The economic progress of Sri Lanka's former war zone had slowed down after a new Tamil provincial council was elected a year ago, a senior minister said today.
Economic development minister Basil Rajapakse said that there have been many hurdles in the economic activities in the country's northern province dominated by the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) but Colombo is keen to cooperate with them.
Basil, younger brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse noted that an India-built railway line to the northern tip of the Jaffna peninsula in the province was held up due to bureaucratic delays.
He added that few residents of the area had encroached upon the line which was removed during the height of the civil war between the Lankan troops and Tamil rebels.

The minister urged the Northern Provincial Council and the local bodies dominated by TNA to help the central government in clearing squatters and allow the railway to proceed.
Basil Rajapakse also stated that the agricultural development work he had begun in the province had been neglected after last year's elections that brought the TNA to power in the region.

"Our position is that work with the powers you already have and then we can see," he told reporters here.
He added that he was unaware of the detailed discussions between the TNA leadership and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but felt that New Delhi supported Colombo's position that the alliance should build on powers given to the provincial council.

The central government of Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will not grant police powers to the provincial councils while the TNA administration has accused the Colombo government of undermining their authority.
India meanwhile has tried to help bring about a settlement between the warring sections as part of New Delhi's larger involvement in securing a reasonable political deal for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority who share cultural and religious ties with the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil National Alliance had swept last year's Northern Provincial Council election dealing the first major political blow to the Rajapakse government who came to power in 2005.