2020-11-24
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. Minister of Irrigation and State Minister of Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management Chamal Rajapaksa, addressing the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Irrigation in Parliament yesterday (23), said that compensation should be paid for the lands acquired prior to the commencement of irrigation projects.
The Minister emphasized that attention should be given towards the satisfaction of the people who are losing their lands and that they should be justly compensated, thus receiving their blessings for projects in return. Accordingly, the Minister instructed the relevant divisions to take necessary measures required for this purpose immediately.
The Minister made an emphasis on this regard when MP Dilan Perera revealed that 6000 families who had lost their lands as a result of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project had not yet been compensated.
It was made aware that the work pertaining to the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project is scheduled to be completed by the month of June next year and that the government will be able to add 120 megawatts of power generation to the national power grid, which is considered as a key component of the government's return on investment by next February.
Furthermore, the Secretary to the Ministry, Mr. Anura Dissanayake stated that all the funds necessary have been allocated for this purpose through the budget and that this project is scheduled to be opened by the month of June, supplying water to nearly 355 tanks.
Adding to it, Mr. Dissanayake further stated that the 26 km long tunnel and the 94 km long North Central Maha Ela project which will feed 1200 small tanks, proposed to be completed in 06 years, will be completed in 04 years’ time. Given that provisions have been allocated through the budget for a number of projects including the aforesaid, he ensured that a number of projects that were delayed will be completed soon.
It was made aware that the Gin and Nilwala project which supply water to the Hambantota Port and the industrial zone surrounding the Mattala Airport along the Chandrika Lake which had been inactive for five years will be restored and completed by the year 2026-2027. This project which will carry 450 million cubic meters of water which will be distributed to many areas including Embilipitiya and Hambantota.
The Secretary to the Ministry said that the Lower Malwathu Oya Water Supply Scheme will be completed soon to address the acute water shortage in many areas including Mannar.
The Minister emphasized the importance of expediting the restoration work given that a large number of irrigation systems including tanks are currently being restored with the assistance of the forces and voluntary organizations. Adding to it he said that new technological mechanisms will be utilized to solve the drinking water problem of the people in the North and steps will be taken to improve it.
Many Members of Parliament participated at this meeting drawing the attention of the Minister towards the matters arising with regards to the scope in discussion and provided suggestions with regards to the existing irrigation systems where the Minister ensured that immediate steps will be taken to address them.
Hon. State Minister of Tanks, Reservoirs and Irrigation Development related to Rural Paddy Fields Anuradha Jayaratne, Hon. State Minister of Canals and Common Infrastructure Development in Settlements in Mahaweli Zones Siripala Gamalath, MPs Faizal Cassim, Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda, Nimal Piyathissa, A. Shritharan, (Dr.) Suren Raghavan, Udayana Kirindigoda, S. M. M. Muszhaaraff, Marjan Faleel, S. M. Rasamanickam and government officials were present at this meeting.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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