Comparative study of environmental & planning law and disaster management law relating to the construction industry in Sri Lanka for sustainable development

Abstract

This research will enable to gain basic understanding of Environmental Law & Planning Law relating to the construction industry; and analyse of new physical planning and disaster management rules and regulations in Sri Lanka . Laws governing protection of environment conservation and the use of natural resources in Sri Lanka are largely based on legislative enactments .There are many physical planning legislation in Sri Lanka such as Housing and Town Improvement Ordinance No. 19 of 1915 ,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, Pradeshiya Sabahas Act of 1987 etc for protection of the environment. Accordingly a set of building regulations are set out in the Schedule to the Ordinances. The objective of the laws are to promote planning of economic, social and physical development and its implementation in the urban areas. The Sri Lanka Parliament enacted two Acts namely Tsunami (Special Provisions) Act No.16 of 2005 and Disaster Management Act No. 13 of 2005 for rehabilitation . These two Acts specially mentioned planning and recovery techniques and disaster management law of Sri Lanka. In the post tsunami reconstruction work, the government has given high priority to rebuild human settlement and shelters. These relevant legislation are related to rehabilitation and reconstruction strategies in tsunami affected areas through environmental protection. However there are various discrepancies, loopholes in these legislation. Objectives of the research are comparative study of existing environmental and Planning law relating to the construction industry in Sri Lanka , Analyse disaster management legislation and recommend improvements to the Construction Law practices in order to make planning procedure more effective. Every professional in the construction industry including the quantity surveyors architects , town planners, engineers should be well aware of the environmental and planning law and abide by them in order to better protect the environment by the impact of construction project as well as create a country with better living conditions in future.