Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council

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Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council

දෙහිවල ගල්කිස්ස මහ නගර සභාව
தெஹிவளை கல்கிசை மாநகர சபை
Emblem of Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council by Amila De Lucy Designer.svg
Official Seal
Type
Type
History
Founded1940;85 years ago (1940)
Preceded byDehiwala-Mount Lavinia Urban Council (1940-1959)
Wellawatte-Galkissa Electoral District (1947-1960)
Leadership
Killapanage Don Parakum Shantha,(NPP)
Deputy Mayor
Vindana Edirisooriya,(NPP)
Structure
Seats54
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council 2025.svg
Political groups
Government
  •   NPP (29)

Opposition

CommitteesSee Departments
Length of term
Four years
Elections
Mixed
Last election
 6 May 2025
Next election
TBD
Meeting place
Galle Rd, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka
Website
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council

Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) is the local authority for the city of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Sri Lanka. The Council is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 48 members elected under the mixed electoral system where 60% of members will be elected using first-past-the-post voting and the remaining 40% through closed list proportional representation. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The area covered by the present Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council was part of the Kingdom of Kotte. It comprised a number of villages, including Pepiliyana Nedimala, Attidiya and Kalubowila. The areas south of Dehiwala together with Ratmalana were one large expanse of marshland that was sparsely populated.

In the late 16th century the Kingdom of Kotte was ruled by the Portuguese controlled king, Dharmapala. The administrative structure of the area during this time was the Gansabha system as prevailed earlier. In the early 17th century, the Dutch brought a more organised administrative structure from which a broad based taxation and legal system evolved. In the 19th century the British replaced this with a provincial administrative (Kachcheri) system, which led to the current form of local government developing.

In 1937 Dehiwela Mount Lavinia was a local body of six wards extending over 16.3 km2 (6.3 sq mi). In 1959 this area was extended and divided into nineteen wards and given municipal status because of its rapid urban growth and for administrative reasons. In 1967 the municipal area of approximately 2,109 ha (5,210 acres) was apportioned into 29 wards, as it exists today. [3]

Demographics

Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipality area is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city.

Population by Religion (2012)
  1. Buddhists (60.84%)
  2. Muslims (16.35%)
  3. Hinduism (8.73%)
  4. Catholics (6.95%)
  5. Other Christians (4.51%)
  6. Other (2.62%)

Wards

Dehiwala Mount Lavinia municipality is the second largest in Sri Lanka covering 21.09 km2 (8.14 sq mi). It lies to the south of the Colombo Municipal Council area separated by the Dehiwala canal which acts as the northern boundary of the municipality. Borupana Road lies at the southern limits and Weras Ganga to the east. [3]

There are 29 wards in the Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. [7]

No#WardArea (Ha)
1Wilawila50.2
2Dutugemunu76.9
3 Kohuwela 85.0
4 Kalubowila 50.6
5Hathbodhiyawatta40.2
6Saranankara36.5
7Galwala45.8
8 Dehiwela West 47.5
9 Dehiwela East 46.7
10Uddyana51.7
11 Nedimala 74.0
12Malwatta36.6
13Jayatilake39.5
14Karagampitiya40.7
15 Kawudana East 120.7
16Kawudana West51.8
17 Mount Lavinia 29.1
18Vidyalaya74.9
19Wattarappola39.5
20Katukurundawatta115.8
21Atthidiya North114.3
22Wathumulla54.6
23Wedikanda64.3
24Pirivena63.2
25Atthidiya South140.2
26Vihara68.3
27Ratmalana West38.4
28Ratmalana East106.3
29Kadawala305.6
Total2,109

Council

Mayors

Parties

   Independent    United National Party    Sri Lanka Freedom Party    Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna    National People's Power

NameTerm of officeNotesRef
L. V. Gooneratne 1961–1971First mayor of DMMC
Susil De Silva Jayasinghe1990–1995
Sunethra Ranasinghe 1996-2002
Danasiri Amaratunga2002–2005 [8]
2005–2018
Stanley Dias2018–2023 [9]
Killapanage Don Parakum Shantha2025–present [10]

Departments

The Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council comprises ten departments: [11]

References

  1. ↑ Dissanayake, Chathuri (5 December 2017). "LG polls cost to hit Rs. 4 b". Daily FT . Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Marasinghe, Sandasen; Mudalige, Disna (25 August 2017). "Amended Local Government Elections Bill approved in Parliament". Daily News . Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  3. 1 2 Wijayapala, SLF (October 2003). City Profile Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (PDF). UN – Habitat Sustainable Cities Programme & Sustainable Sri Lankan Cities Programme (SSLCP). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  5. ↑ "Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by divisional secretariat division, religion and sex- 2012" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by divisional secretariat division, religion and sex- 2012" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Ward Map of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council - Colombo District" (PDF). Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "(සිංහළ) Mayor of Dehiwala – Mount Lavinia Municipal Council | Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council - Official Website" . Retrieved 2025-05-10.
  9. ↑ "SLPP's Stanley Dias elected Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Mayor". Colombo Gazette. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Newly Appointed Mayors of Municipal Councils Announced". Newswire. 2025-06-01. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  11. ↑ "Departments". Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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