2023-03-10
News Categories : Committee News
Minister of Agriculture Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera Recently (Mar. 07), instructed the relevant officials to take steps to temporarily suspend the permission to reclaim paddy land. Accordingly, reclamation of paddy land can be done only with the special permission of the Ministry.
The Minister informed this when the MPs drew attention to the reclamation of paddy lands at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Agriculture held in Parliament on the 7th.
Also, the Minister assured that all necessary facilities including fertilizers will be provided to make the next Yala season a success. Accordingly, for the next season TSP fertilizer will be provided totally free of charge and Urea will cost Rs. 10,000 or less, and MOP fertilizer will be provided at a lower price than the current prices, the Minister said. Also, the Minister emphasized that the strengthening of the rupee will benefit the farmer and that the government will intervene as much as possible to reduce the cost of farming.
The committee also paid attention to the Animal Welfare Bill proposed to be presented to Parliament. A group of invited guests including Attorney at Law Mrs. Lalani S. Perera commented on the need for this bill. They said that the existing law for animal welfare in this country is very old and it is not strong enough to protect the rights of Animals. They pointed out that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance passed in 1907 is currently in place for animal welfare in Sri Lanka and a new animal welfare act should be implemented according to the new international laws.
Although new laws should be made for animal welfare, some MPs pointed out that these laws should not affect the use of animals for agricultural and cultural activities. Therefore, they said that the final draft should be prepared after further in-depth discussion on this matter. Thus, it was decided to meet and discuss at the ministerial level again in two weeks with the related written requests.
Members of the committee; State Minister Hon. Mohan Priyadarshan de Silva, State Minister Hon. D.B Herath, Members of Parliament Hon. S. Sritharan, Hon. Udayakantha Gunathilake, Hon. Kulasingham Thilipan, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksa and a group of MPs and Officials including the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture were present in this meeting.
2026-06-11
The Committee on Public Finance convened in Parliament recently (Jun. 08) to deliberate on the report submitted by the Ministry of Finance regarding the missing of US$ 2.5 million held by the Treasury for the settlement of government debt. The Committee, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers: Chathuranga Abeysinghe, (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Nishantha Jayaweera, and Hon. Members of Parliament: Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake and (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law.The discussion was attended by Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and a number of other officials, including officials of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT). An extensive discussion was held on the report submitted, during which officials of the Central Bank informed that, upon examining the report, they would submit another report on the matter to the Committee on Public Finance. Accordingly, the Chair of the Committee on Public Finance stated that, after considering both reports, a final report would be prepared and submitted to Parliament.
2026-06-09
The motion to refer the report containing the findings of the investigations conducted by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic to the Attorney General for observations and any necessary further action was approved by Parliament today (Jun. 09).The report contains the findings of the investigations carried out by COPA regarding the Department of Motor Traffic on 10 and 21 March 2025 during the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. It had previously been presented to Parliament on 25 July 2025 as Parliamentary Series No. 243.In terms of the provisions of Standing Order 119(4) of Parliament, the relevant report had been referred to the Minister of Finance and the subject Minister for their observations and following the tabling of their responses in Parliament, the COPA reconsidered the matters contained in the report on 04 March 2026.During its deliberations, the Committee emphasized the necessity of taking prompt legal action in relation to the financial irregularities and frauds that had been revealed in the Department of Motor Traffic. Accordingly, it was unanimously decided to seek the approval of Parliament to refer the Committee’s report to the Attorney General for necessary legal action.Accordingly, Parliament today approved the motion, “The report bearing Parliamentary Series No. 243, which was tabled in Parliament on 25 July 2025 and contains the findings of the investigations conducted by the COPA on 10 and 21 March 2025 in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic, be referred to the Attorney General for observations and necessary action.”No committee report previously tabled in Parliament has been referred to the Attorney General for observations and further legal action, and marks the first occasion on which a committee report has been referred in this manner.
2026-06-08
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met in Parliament recently (5th June) to review the progress of investigations and discuss the next steps relating to the case concerning the abuse of a girl in the Anuradhapura area.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Officials representing the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services and the Sri Lanka Police were invited to attend the meeting.During the meeting, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus instructed the relevant authorities to ensure that all ongoing investigations related to the incident are conducted strictly in accordance with court orders. The Caucus also requested that forensic reports and other medical reports relevant to the case be obtained without delay.As court proceedings concerning the victimized girl are currently being conducted not only in Anuradhapura but also in Attanagalla and Dambulla, the Caucus instructed the National Child Protection Authority to intervene in monitoring those proceedings as well. A request was also made to take measures to minimize the repeated trauma experienced by the victimized girl as a result of her involvement in all three legal proceedings.Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Department expressed its agreement with a request made by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to appear before the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court in order to facilitate judicial and legal processes and strengthen coordination among government institutions.The Caucus also informed the Department of Probation and Child Care Services to continue paying close attention to matters relating to the girl’s education, health, and safety.The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus further highlighted the importance of maintaining effective coordination among law enforcement agencies dealing with child abuse cases and agreed to take the necessary interventions in this regard in the future.Moreover, it was decided that guidelines should be developed for media reporting and judicial proceedings relating to child abuse cases in a manner that safeguards the child’s privacy, security, and dignity. A subcommittee functioning under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus will intervene in this process.The subcommittee will also undertake future measures required to address and overcome the legal and practical challenges that arise in child abuse litigation.Members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Hasara Liyanage, (Attorney-at-Law) Lakmali Hemachandra and (Attorney-at-Law) Sagarika Athauda attended the meeting. The Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Thushari Jayasinghe and (Attorney-at-Law) Anushka Thilakarathne joined the meeting online.
2026-06-05
Discussions Held on Establishing Rebuilding Sri Lanka as a Statutory FundOfficials led by Auditor General (Ms) Samudika Jayaratne briefed the Committee on Public Finance on the progress of the National Audit Office’s Annual Programme for 2026.The briefing took place at a meeting of the Committee held in Parliament on 2nd June, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva. The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayaweera, along with Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Champika Hettiarachchi and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra. The auditing of ‘Samurdhi Banks’ was also discussed during the meeting, and officials informed the Committee that the audits for 2023 and 2024 must be completed in order to conduct the audit for 2025. They noted that the procurement process required to outsource these audits to external parties has not yet been finalized.While initial estimates indicated that approximately 300 officers would be required to carry out the audits, the Auditor General stated that the recruitment of 200 officers over a period of one and a half years would be sufficient. Officials further highlighted the absence of a dedicated audit framework for Samurdhi Banks. In response, the Committee Chair recommended that a comprehensive study be conducted and that a proposed audit framework for Samurdhi Banks and affiliated societies be submitted to the Committee for consideration.The Committee also reviewed matters relating to cyber security. Officials from the National Audit Office stated that the department currently lacks in-house information technology specialists to support audit activities. As a result, system audits are carried out by external auditors.In addition, the Committee discussed the account maintained for the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ programme. Officials from the National Audit Office informed members that no statutory fund currently exists under the name “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” and the programme operates through an account maintained under the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. Officials further confirmed that no payments have been made through this account to date.
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