Abstract:
Local government is the third layer of the government which is established to fulfil the basic needs of ordinary
people. It is a viable institution to provide public services at the grass-root level. New local government system
was introduced in Sri Lanka during the British colonial rule although the country has a long history in terms of
local governance. At present, three types of local government bodies; Municipal Council, Urban Council and
Pradeshiya Sabah are functioning in the country. The people of Sainthamaruthu has been requesting for an
independent local government for 30 years. The main behind this issue is the independently governed
“Karaivahu south council” since 1987 had been under the Kalmunai patina Sabah. Sainthamaruthu has the
ability in receiving an independent local government. Against this backdrop, this research attempts to analysis
important of the establishment of a new local government body in the Sainthamaruthu area. This study is a
qualitative study with the limited application of quantitative techniques. The data were mainly collected
through two different sources such as primary and secondary sources. Primary sources consist of
questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The primary data resources based on the questionnaires according to
the ratio of 1000:1 of Kalmunai municipal council population. For this 121 questionnaires and interviews were
conducted. Secondary sources include books, documents, research articles, magazine, newspaper essays and
internet materials. The objectives of the research are the observation of necessities required new local
government and find the merits and demerits of establishing new local body of Sainthamaruthu.
