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.

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 . 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 was apportioned into 29 wards, as it exists today.

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

+ Religious Identification in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipality area Population (2012) % of TotalBuddhist 111,330 60.84%Islam 29,928 16.35%Hindu 15,978 8.73%Roman Catholic 12,726 6.95%Other Christian 8,250 4.51%Other 4,784 2.61% Total 182,996 100.00%

Ethnic Identification in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipality area Population (2012) % of TotalSinhalese 128,363 70.15%Sri Lankan Moor 26,875 14.69%Sri Lankan Tamil 20,769 11.35%Burgher 2,609 1.43%Indian Tamil 2,095 1.14%Malay 1,102 0.60%Other964 0.53%Sri Lankan Chetty 139 0.08%Baratha 80 0.04% Total 182,996 100.00%

Wards Dehiwala Mount Lavinia municipality is the second largest in Sri Lanka covering . 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.

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

No# Ward Area (Ha) 1 Wilawila 50.2 2 Dutugemunu 76.9 3 Kohuwela 85.0 4 Kalubowila 50.6 5 Hathbodhiyawatta 40.2 6 Saranankara 36.5 7 Galwala 45.8 8 Dehiwela West 47.5 9 Dehiwela East 46.7 10 Uddyana 51.7 11 Nedimala 74.0 12 Malwatta 36.6 13 Jayatilake 39.5 14 Karagampitiya 40.7 15 Kawudana East 120.7 16 Kawudana West 51.8 17 Mount Lavinia 29.1 18 Vidyalaya 74.9 19 Wattarappola 39.5 20 Katukurundawatta 115.8 21 Atthidiya North 114.3 22 Wathumulla 54.6 23 Wedikanda 64.3 24 Pirivena 63.2 25 Atthidiya South 140.2 26 Vihara 68.3 27 Ratmalana West 38.4 28 Ratmalana East 106.3 29 Kadawala 305.6Total 2,109

Council Mayors Parties

NameTerm of officeNotesRefL. V. Gooneratne 1961–1971 First mayor of DMMC Susil De Silva Jayasinghe 1990–1995 Sunethra Ranasinghe1996-2002Danasiri Amaratunga2002–2005 2005–2018 Stanley Dias 2018–2023 Killapanage Don Parakum Shantha2025–present

Departments The Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council comprises ten departments:

Department of Administration Department of Finance Department of Engineers Department of Mechanical Engineers Department of Legal Department of Health and Solid Waste Magagement Department of Sport and Social Welfare Department of Electrical Department of Fire Department of Health

References

External links Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council