2020-11-28
News Categories : Committee News
It was disclosed at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Water Supply that all arrangements have been made to commence 264 projects in the country to make the water supply activities more efficient by next year.
The Ministry has thus planned to launch one part of the project in 2021 and the other in the year 2022.
Addressing the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Water Supply chaired by Minister of Water Supply Vasudeva Nanayakkara yesterday (27), Secretary to the Ministry of Water Supply Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrema stated that he hopes to increase the water supply coverage in the country from the current 40% to 78%.
It will also increase the current water production per day from 2.07 cubic meters to 4.47 cubic meters. All these projects are expected to be designed by engineers of the Water Board carried out by local contractors using local funds.
Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara emphasized that water supply alone is not his objective and that he aims to provide quality water to the people. Furthermore, the Minister said that the Water Board, the Water Supply Board and the Department of National Community Water Supply under his Ministry are working efficiently for this purpose.
State Minister of Rural and Divisional Drinking Water Supply Projects Development Sanath Nishantha said that the role of his Ministry is to provide water to the people in areas which are not covered by the Water Supply Board's water supply as well as in areas with special potential through the community water supply projects. Adding to it the State Minister pointed out that the number of water connections supplying water to the whole country is around 700,000 through 4500 community-based organizations registered with the Department of National Community Water Supply under the Ministry. Furthermore, he said that he is working towards achieving the goal of 100% water supply to the people of the country, which is the goal of the Hon. President and the Prime Minister, will be achieved with the support of the community.
Members of Parliament Madhura Vithanage, Sampath Athukorala, Rajika Wickramasinghe, Muditha Prashanthi, Milan Jayathilaka, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, D. S Herath, Sudath Manjula, Rohana Dissanayake, Kader Masthan, Wasantha Yapabandara, Ajith Rajapakse, Jayaratne Herath, Goonetileke Rajapaksa, Asanka Navaratne, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Samanpriya Herath, K. P. S. Kumarasiri, Amarakeerthi Athukorala, Siripala Gamalath, Isuru Dodangoda and officials including Secretary Ministry of Water Supply Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrema, Secretary, State Ministry of Rural and Divisional Drinking Water Supply Projects Development S.G. Wijayabandu 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.
Handbook of Parliament
The System of Elections in Sri Lanka
How Parliament Works
Business of Parliament
Copyright © The Parliament of Sri Lanka.
All Rights Reserved.
Design & Developed by TekGeeks
