2021-04-16
News Categories : Committee News
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence met under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Sri Jayewardenepura Parliamentary Complex recently.
This is the inaugural meeting of the Consultative Committee after the election of the current Parliament. The President chaired the meeting in his capacity as the Minister in charge of the subject who is usually the Chairman of the Committee. A number of issues such as National Security, Promotion of Law and Order, Salaries of War Heroes, Drug eradication and Annual Reports of Institutions under the Ministry of Defense were discussed at the meeting. Government MPs, Ministers and Opposition MPs were present at the meeting.
Referring to the proposed measures to ensure and promote law and order, President Rajapaksa added that 196 new police stations have been planned to be established in order to serve citizens in different parts of the country as required. At the same time, 10,000 new recruits, both men and women, are being recruited to increase the police force.
Salaries and allowances paid to the families of disabled and deceased war heroes came under discussion at today’s meeting. The President said that a Cabinet paper has been submitted to the Cabinet seeking approval to pay lifetime salaries and allowances now being paid to disabled war heroes to their dependents for the rest of their lives upon the former’s death.
This will also provide the opportunity for the dependents of the fallen war heroes as well to receive their salaries and allowances for life. He expressed that the requests of the families of war heroes would be met and they do not need to resort to demonstrations adding that the true motive behind the protests is something else. Both the President and the Defence Secretary reminded that the current government did not harass the protesters contrary to the practice in the past.
Responding to a proposal made during the exchange of views on drug prevention, the President said that already a new National Policy on Drug Prevention has been formulated. It will be made available to the public soon. The president also pointed out the importance of using religious counselling in the rehabilitation process of drug addicts.
With reference to a question arose on banning books containing ideas of religious extremism, the President said that the decision was not aimed at a specific religion but aimed at eradicating all forms of religious extremism in general.
President Rajapaksa emphasized the need to cultivate coconut or other suitable crops on unused lands belonging to the security forces and instructed the Heads of Security Forces to identify lands that could be used for this purpose.
State Minister of Defence, Chamal Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne, Commanders of the Tri- Forces, IGP and Several high ranking officials of the Security Forces were also present at the discussion.
2026-05-26
The Central Provincial Council was summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) to examine the Auditor General’s triennial report for the years 2021–2023, the Auditor General’s report for 2024, and the Council’s current performance.The committee meeting, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim, was held recently at Parliament.During the meeting, attention was drawn to the progress made in implementing recommendations issued at the COPA meeting held on 5th September, 2019. Discussions focused on the incident involving the destruction of files belonging to the Central Provincial Passenger Transport Authority.It was revealed that directives issued by the relevant court and the Presidential Secretary regarding the incident had not been implemented by the responsible authorities. In this regard, the Committee Chairman instructed officials of the Central Provincial Council to submit all reports and correspondence related to the incident to the committee.In addition, the committee discussed an incident involving the unlawful transfer of a rest house owned by the Road Development Authority to a third party in violation of lease conditions. Accordingly, the Chairman instructed officials to identify the officers responsible for making the relevant decisions and to submit a report to the committee on the legal action being taken in connection with the matter.The committee also held extensive discussions on irregularities identified by the National Audit Office in road development and passenger transport services in the Central Province, as well as issues affecting the health sector.Expressing his views during the meeting, the Chairman emphasized the importance of expediting ongoing investigations within institutions and focusing on follow-up action. He further stressed that if a state institution generates profits, such profits should accrue to the government, and if such revenue is used for institutional activities, established legal provisions and procedures must be strictly followed.The meeting was attended by committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Sunil Rathnasiri, Oshani Umanga, Susantha Kumara Navarathna, Ajantha Gammeddage, Chanaka Madugoda, T.K. Jayasundara and Lal Premanath along with a group of government officials.
2026-05-26
The Parliamentary Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to Parliament on the matter of selecting the Electoral System under which the Provincial Council Elections should be held and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, recently sought views from the Attorney General’s Department and members of the Election Commission.The discussion took place when the committee met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Vijitha Herath.During the meeting, the Attorney General’s Department briefed the committee on the existing legal obstacles to holding Provincial Council elections and the possible ways in which such obstacles could be removed to facilitate the conduct of the elections.The Election Commission informed the committee that it is prepared to conduct Provincial Council elections at any time under the legal provisions enacted by Parliament based on the committee’s recommendations.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Arun Hemachandra, Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law and Muneer Mulaffer as well as committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Mano Ganesan, Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Samanmali Gunasinghe and Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi. The committee member M. Nizam Kariapper, P.C also participated virtually.
2026-05-25
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has decided to examine the ongoing legal proceedings and matters relating to the protection of the girl involved in the sexual abuse incident reported from the Anuradhapura area.This decision was taken during the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus meeting chaired by Hon. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, held in Parliament today (May 25). Accordingly, a special discussion has been scheduled for 05.06.2026 with the participation of relevant institutions including the Sri Lanka Police, the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation and Child Care Services.In addition to the incident, which has generated significant public concern, the discussion is also expected to focus extensively on strengthening the laws and empowering the institutions required to prevent all forms of violence against women and children.Meanwhile, it was also decided to appoint a subcommittee under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to oversee the future legal proceedings relating to the Anuradhapura girl’s case and to identify the institutional and legal reforms required in the country to eliminate violence against women and children.The subcommittee will be led by the deputy co-chairs of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus Hon. Members of Parliament Samanmali Gunasinghe and Attorney-at-Law Chamindrani Kiriella. The other members of the subcommittee will be Hon. Hemali Weerasekara, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna, Attorney-at-Law Sagarika Athauda, Attorney-at-Law Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law Anushka Thilakarathna, Attorney-at-Law Hasara Liyanage, Attorney-at-Law Hiruni Wijesinghe and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.
2026-05-25
The progress of implementing the new education reforms was reviewed at a recent meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi. During the meeting held in Parliament on the 19th, extensive discussions were held on the implementation of the new education reforms.Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, briefed the committee on the manner in which the new education reforms are being implemented.The meeting was attended by Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, committee members, provincial education secretaries, school principals, and several other officials.
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