An analysis of construction law and disaster management law relating to sustainable development in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Construction Law may be defined as the law that regulates built environment in relation to construction activities. This law also deals with physical planning techniques and protection of natural environment. Law governing in built environment in Sri Lanka is largely based on legislation. Main physical planning legislations in Sri Lanka are Urban Development Authority (UDA) Law No. 41 of 1978, Town and Country Planning Ordinance No. 16 of 1946, Municipal Council Ordinance and Urban Council Ordinance of 1947, Pradeshiya Sabhas Act of 1987, and their amendments. Provisions of these legislation are controlling construction activities in their regions. National Environment Act of 1980 controls EIA and EPL relating to the construction industry. The Sri Lanka Parliament enacted two legislations after the tsunami namely Tsunami (Special Provisions) Act No. 16 of 2005 and Disaster Management Act No. 13 of 2005 for the rehabilitation activities. These two Acts have mentioned planning and recovery techniques and elements of disaster management law. In the post tsunami reconstruction work, the government has given high priority to rebuild human settlements. However there are some discrepancies in these legislation and are not accepted in sustainability concepts. Hence, the aim of this research is to compare existing Construction Law and Disaster Management Law relating to the construction industry in Sri Lanka and recommend improvements to the Construction Law practices in order to make sustainability concepts more effective. Through a literature review of recent court cases, this research has analysed the basic concepts and discrepancies of the above mentioned law in Sri Lanka.