2022-07-07
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. Prasanna Ranatunga, Minister of Urban Development and Housing, said that the supplementary estimate to be submitted to the Parliament will not allocate funds for urban development activities. The minister said that due to the economic crisis in the country, the treasury has informed that all the future development activities should be temporarily stopped and the development activities that have been started should also be temporarily stopped so as not to incur losses. The minister further stated that it can only be said correctly after the supplementary estimate is presented to the parliament.
The Minister mentioned this when the members of Parliament inquired about the allocation of funds for future development activities the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Urban Development & Housing met recently (05).
The development of Najima Estate on Ferguson Road, Colombo North was discussed at length. Officials of the Urban Development Authority mentioned that this land was used as an intermediate camp where the low-income people were temporarily settled until they were settled in permanent houses in 2006. But recently some people have forcibly settled in this land, so legal steps have been taken to evict them.
Also, the request made by the Member of Parliament Hon. Yadamini Gunawardena for rebuilding the Modara Kimbulaela playground was also considered here.
There was also a discussion at length regarding the problems in providing water supply to the residents of the apartment complexes in Colombo. Furthermore, the MPs were of the view that apartment owners living in Colombo receive one bill including housing charges and other charges together and that the water charges in it are very high.
Officials of the Urban Development Authority mentioned that because the National Water Supply and Drainage Board supplies water in bulk, monthly fees are charged according to the prices of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.
The minister asked why the National Water Supply and Drainage Board cannot charge the water charges. Here the officials mentioned that they are currently working to establish the Condominium Management Authority to manage the apartments and after that these difficulties will be minimized.
Members of Parliament, officials from the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Urban Development Authority and other officials representing relevant institutions were present at the Committee 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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