2020-11-26
News Categories : Committee News
Minister S. M. Chandrasena addressing the first meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Lands today (26), stated that steps will be taken to expedite the process of amending the Land Ordinance.
Elaborating on the above, the Minister said that the main purpose of the amendment was to issue deeds for licensed lands in response to the question raised by Parliamentarian Jagath Pushpakumara. The Minister pointed out that there are many issues in the implementation of the Bimsaviya program and that such issues could be solved by amending the Act.
Furthermore, the Minister said that a program has been launched to provide lands to around 100,000 young entrepreneurs under President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor policy statement and 600,000 applications have been received thus far.
Although the deadline for the submission of applications has expired on the 15th, the Minister immediately instructed the officials of the Ministry of Land Affairs to extend the deadline by another month after considering the requests made by the Members of Parliament at the Consultative Committee.
The committee also discussed the need to control the acts of acquisition of land fraudulently. MP Chinthaka Mayadunne highlited illegality of returning lands taken over by the government under 'possession' to the same parties. He also pointed out the robbing of lands are taking place in the Puttalam area.
Minister S. M. Chandrasena informed the Committee that steps will be taken to issue a special circular regarding lands belonging to the Land Reforms Commission soon. Discussions were also held regarding the regularization of land surveying activities of the lands belonging to Commission.
Strengthening of the Buddhist Temples and Shrines Act was also discussed at the Committee. MP Sampath Athukorala stated that a land in the Niyagama area owned by the National Vocational Training Center had been given to a private ally during the previous government and requested that action be taken to reacquire the land. The Minister instructed the officials to take immediate action in this regard.
The Committee also focused on initiating a program to expedite land surveying activities throughout the island.
Members of parliament, H. Nandasena, Asanka Navaratne, Goonetileke Rajapaksa, Wasantha Yapabandara, Samanpriya Herath, Upul Galappaththi, Milan Jayathilake, J.C. Alawathuwala, Gayantha Karunathilaka, Sanjeewa Edirimanna were present at the 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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