VISION
Our vision is to be the happiest city in Sri Lanka
MISSION
Our mission is to achieve a clearer and pleasant city status by maintaining health services, roads and other welfare services very efficiently and regularly by charging a reasonable tax only to cover up the expenditure, according to the power vested under Urban Council Ordinance and other written laws.
A city is a large human settlement. People are the main driving force in a city. The dynamism of a city is dependent on people and their behaviour. A preliminary understanding of the composition and diverse capabilities of the populations in a city should be the key to a successful urban study.
This section provides a description of the demographic status and trends in the city, primarily based on 2012 census data, presenting an overall view of the population. Trends and patterns of urban population are discussed including aspects of demography such as age, sex, ethnicity, education levels; and overall observations with regard to migration patterns, suburban population and gender.
Understanding the demographic and composition patterns of the population within the existing physical boundary will help in planning a livable city.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Out of the total population within the Embilipitiya Urban Council limits females are higher than males.
Source - Embilipitiya Divisional Secretariat Division
This bar chart shows that the rate of unemployment is very low compared to the employment rate which is considered one of the most important strengths for the economic growth of the town. The economic base of the city has been built through agriculture, industries, wholesale and retail trade, automobile and spare parts, tourism industry and minerals etc. And the main economic contribution is provided by agriculture.
Source - Resource Profile data
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The total male resident population in the Embilipitiya Urban Council area is 18089, the total female resident population is 18623 out of which the total male migrant population is 5078 and the total female migrant population is 6079.According to that the amount of female inmigrants are comparatively higher than the male inmigrants.
Cities are the primary drivers of economic development, therefore, Sri Lanka’s cities have a decisive role to play in driving the economy forward by catalysing high value-added economic activities, as the country strives to achieve upper middle-income country status.
According the latest Word Cities report, 80 per cent of global GDP is created by cities, despite their accounting for less than 60 per cent of the world’s population (UN-Habitat, 2016).
The Government of Sri Lanka recognizes the role of urban economy in shaping the future of the country. In this respect, Vision 2025 and Public Investment Programme (PIP) 2017-2020 lays out the urban policy priority actions: to promote western region as economic hub of the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, and to promote strategic city development to secondary urban spaces as provincial economic hubs.
It is also interesting to see how competitive a city is, taking into account current and potential roles of governments, businesses and the private sector in the economic development of the city and urban settlements, best use of human capital, and labour force participation, and existing skills and the job market etc. within demarcated territory.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
An increase in agricultural production is already being demonstrated based on the arising farming community with the Udawalawe Multipurpose Scheme (1963). As the main crop, paddy cultivation is being carried out in this region. In addition, vegetables, bananas, fruits, sugar cane, peanuts and maize are also being cultivated in this region. The Udawalawe main agricultural area has been named as the Walawa special zone under the Mahaweli Development Scheme and has been divided and named under 6 subdivisions. Out of this Embilipitiya town belongs to the Chandrikawewa division. During the past 2015-2016 years ,in the Yala season 11,378MT of paddy and in the Maha season 9,935 MT of paddy have been harvested in this region and contribution of the Chandrika Wewa zone to the Udawalawa zone in paddy production in the Yala and Maha season was 14.6% out of 27 major paddy production region in srilanka,Udawalawa is in 15 th place and the overall paddy production of the Udawalawa region from 1989 to the year 2015 trend to the gradual increase.
Source - UDA development plan
The tourism industry can be identified as a significant industry in the region. out of seven main tourist zones of the Sabaragamuwa Province Embilipitiya and adjacent tourism areas are included in Udawalawa Tourism zone Udawalawa Reservoir, Udawalawa National park, Sankapala viharaya, Maduwanwela Walawwa, Chandrika wewa, Liyangasthota Amuna and Udawalawe Elephant orphanage are among the tourist attraction of the region. The Udawalawa National Park has attracted tourists from all over the world and widthin 2015 January to July this park has attracted tourists from all over the world within 2015 January to July this park had attracted arrivals of 44032 foreign tourists and 52530
Source - Resource Profile, Embilipitiya DSD
In addition to paddy cultivation, mainly Banana cultivation and inter-crop cultivation are done in Embilipitiya,during the year 2016. Except paddy cultivation highest amount of land has been used to cultivate banana. That is 2126.6 hectare(16%of the total cultivated land) for banana cultivation, and 1587 hectares (12% of the total cultivated land) for additional crop cultivation has been used.
Source - UDA development plan
According to the initial studies of the Higura Ara, Udagama, Thunkama and Higura areas,the expected harvest from a single cultivated season was,3372 metric tons of paddy ,1290 metric tons of banana and 1560 metric tons of vegetables. However, the harvest received per month from these areas is 200 metric tons of banana. Out of this, the economic centre receives a low percentage of between 40% and 50%. Vegetable production is about 260 metric tons per month and the economic centre receives a low rate of 23% to 26%
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
In addition to the agricultural sector, industrial sector also contributes to the strengthening of the regional economy. Within the Embilipitiya city area there are overall 2400 industries established which consists of a large scale industry, 35 medium scale industries and 1505 self employment industries. Out of these industries, 917 industries are in the UDA Declared area. In addition to those industries,an industrial park comprising 50 acres of land has been established by the Ministry of Industries and presently, an area of 25 acres is being used in industries under the first stage. In addition to the manufacturing industries, the tourism industry can be identified as a significant industry in the region.
Source - UDA development plan
In the city that Market has been established to capable of supplying of agricultural seeds, fertilizers and Agrochemicals, agricultural vehicles, and machinery, as well as vehicles, motor spare parts sales service centre network and centres for sales of foods and restaurants. All these services are available in New town, Pallegama and Yodagama areas belonging to the town centre, allowing the clients to carry out their work easily. Established as the main urban centre in the Walawa region, this town receives from 30,000 to 60,000 people to acquire various services daily. Arrival for agricultural services from Godakawela, Pallebedda, Sankapala, Udawalawe, Kolonna, Kella, Sevanagala, Middeniya, Sooriyawewa and Ridiyagama has been identified. Especially from Kolonna, Sevanagala, Middeniya, Sooriyawewa and Ridiyagama, people come to Embilipitiya town for agricultural services due to the convenience of access to all requirements .for example, for a person who comes to the Embilipitiya Economic Center to sell agriculture crops, many financial companies are established in the city for financial purpose and can purchase seeds, fertilizer and other chemicals as per the desire of them in the city itself. The ability to buy machineries for agricultural services, motor vehicles, and spare parts to purchase agricultural products and food items, to buy essential daily items, to provide administrative, health, educational and financial necessities have been identified as the strength of the city to transform city into a commercial centre.
Municipal services is one of the key tasks an urban centre carries out fto ensure a functional living condition for its citizens.
The access to municipal services and the quality of their provision strongly influence the social, economic and environmental performance of a city as well as urban development.
Urban centres provide key services that underpin Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development. Cities provide key government administration functions, such as vehicle registration services, access to social protection schemes, and a range of additional services (explored in detail in Chapter 9, urban governance in the SoSLC Report). Urban centres provide residents with health and education services: providing equitable access to quality healthcare and education. They also include services to facilitate social recreational activities and promote community cohesion, such as libraries, community centres and sports facilities. Ensuring quality services is a crucial component in securing an urban future for all Sri Lankans.
| Area of land | Number of families | Total garbage generation daily | The amount of garbage collected daily | The amount of decomposing garbage daily | Amount of compost produced monthly |
| 50.9 square miles | 8870 | 7 tons | 5 tons | 3 tons | Metric ton 18 |
Source - Urban council Embilipitiya
Production of organic manure by the compost yard of Embilipitiya Municipal Council
A city needs to have an environment that is habitable and conducive with appropriate spaces for people who use the city, while also being resilient in the face of increasing climate risk.
Aspects such as a cities’ air and water quality, quality of the built environment as well as the aesthetic and historic aspects in the city are things we need to look at. However, in the light of increasing disaster risk, managing climate change impact in the light of current urbanisation patterns becomes a key concern, and thus land use planning in a city needs to take this into account.
SDG targets 11.4 (safeguarding cultural and natural heritage) and 11.5 (reducing impacts of disasters, especially floods), 11.6 (air quality and waste) and 11.7 (safe, open and green spaces for all groups) all emphasize that for a city to be sustainable, these aspects need to be considered.
| Serial number | Molecular Biology Material | Tons | Percentage by mass |
| 01 | Perishable material | 3.91 | 65.29% |
| 02 | Cardboard | 0.21 | 3.5% |
| 03 | Polythene | 0.3054 | 5.09% |
| 04 | the glasses | 0.3246 | 5.41% |
| 05 | paper | 0.153 | 2.55% |
| 06 | Fabric | 0.21 | 3.5% |
| 07 | Iron / Ting | 0.1722 | 2.87% |
| 08 | Porcelain | 0.1554 | 2.59% |
| 09 | Pet | 0.0378 | 0.63% |
| 10 | Cups of yogurt | 0.0096 | 0.16% |
| 11 | Other | 0.5046 | 8.41% |
Source - Embilipitiya Urban Council
Rotting garbage collected daily in Embilipitiya Municipal Council area is collected at Kadurugasara compost yard.Non-perishable garbage is collected at the sampath Center
Embilipitiya Pradeshiya Sabha area:
Embilipitiya Pradeshiya Sabha covers an area of 13183 hectares.
Proper management of land, a scarce resource, can bring about many benefits. This is of great importance especially in urban areas.
It is timely to figure out how land is allocated and being used for what purpose in our cities today. In order to create well planned cities with a futuristic vision, having a better understanding of current land use is imperative.
Land use maps are categorized into 36 sub-categories under two types – built-up and non built-up. The extent of land in each of these sub categories are indicated below.
In all of the cities it can be identified that the higher densities are concentrated in the city centres and the expansion is taken place along the roads. The expansion pattern is shaped by the geography of the surrounding area.
The selection of the area for the urban expansion analysis was followed by several preliminary studies. Initially, the urban index values which was identified using the remote sensing information were studied in the respective municipal areas including a fringe area.
Before selecting interested area for the expansion analysis it should consider following facts
- Municipal boundary
- At least 2-3 km buffer around Municipal boundary
- Rough boundary where the physical urban character disappearing
In the remote sensing discipline, the values higher than 0 represent the built-up areas.The boundary for the fringe area was identified by getting the extent of urban expansion as well as a fine boundary where the high-density expansion become insignificant. The identified boundaries were projected on to the latest satellite images to assure the identified urban index values are in line with the existing building densities.
