Powers of the Local Authorities at the Grassroots Level in the Process of Development Planning in Sri Lanka

A development plan implanted at the grassroots level such as a city is one of the physical plans consisting of three sub-plans, i.e. National Physical Plan, Region Plans, and Town Plans. This paper focuses on the laws of the local authorities and their powerfulness in comparison to different agencies and central government arms recently set up to implement similar tasks. Authorities such as the Municipality Council have convinced powers to implement development planning for the betterment of society and to set up public comfort and conveniences through their enforcement and implementation together with its planning agency, the Urban Development Authority (UDA). The remaining local authorities such as in rural areas, are still vesting their powers through the Housing and Town Improvement Ordinance of 1915. This paper discusses the core planning powers of Local Authorities (LAs) and their importance to the general public as a law.