2020-12-04
News Categories : Committee News
Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, said that a special program to protect the cleanliness of 103 rivers island wide will be commenced in January under the patronage of H.E the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
He said so while addressing the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment held in Parliament yesterday (03).
He pointed out that many of the rivers in the country are being polluted rapidly and as a result a large amount of trash is being discharged into the sea as well as the surrounding environment of the rivers.
Therefore, this programme will be implemented with the support of the general public, giving official responsibility to the relevant authorities for the cleanliness of the rivers from its beginning. Accordingly, the Minister emphasized that this will be continued as one of the main projects named ‘Surakimu Ganga'.
Issuance of permits for digging coconut lands and extracting sand has been suspended
State Minister D.B Herath pointed out that a large scale business of extracting sand from coconut lands in the North Western Province is taking place and as a result, valuable coconut lands are being lost rapidly. Accordingly, The Minister directed the officials of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) to immediately suspend the issuance of permits for this process.
MP D. Weerasinghe revealed the facts regarding the sand mining being carried out in the Hada Oya area in Ampara using the names of various politicians. The Minister instructed the officials of the GSMB and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA ) to immediately inquire into the matter and submit a report to him within a week.
Presidential Task Force to solve sand and other construction raw material issue
The Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Anil Jasingha, who participated in the meeting, said that the process of supplying sand, stone and other raw materials for the construction of buildings in Sri Lanka has become a very informal process.
Therefore, H.E the President has set up a 'Presidential Task Force' to formulate a methodology to provide building materials such as stones and sand as well as industrial raw materials such as clay at affordable prices to the people without intermediaries, the Secretary said.
Dr. Jasinghe further stated that the report of the task force of which he is a member will be released in the near future and after its implementation, there will be a revolutionary change in the field of construction raw materials.
The Minister said that the government will provide a permanent solution to this problem in the near future which the people of the area will be benefitted economically instead of the smugglers.
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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