One of the last environmental actions of recently assassinated Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa was to block a private company's attempts to initiate mechanised gem mining in the Kalu Ganga riverbed south of Colombo. Responding to a representation from the local member of Parliament, Premadasa instructed the Central environment authority to appoint a multi-disciplinary committee to carry out the mandatory environment impact assessment (EIA) of the gem mining project.