2024-08-02
News Categories : Committee News
It was disclosed at the Committee on Public Accounts that Sri Lanka is among the 3 countries in the world where the population density is more than 300 per square kilometer and the forest population is maintained at 30%. Accordingly, apart from Sri Lanka, only two countries, namely South Korea and Japan, maintain such a forest system, the officials of the Department of Forest Conservation said.
These facts came to light when the Committee on Public Accounts met in Parliament under the Chairmanship of State Minister Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna. The Department of Forest Conservation was called before the Committee recently (Jul. 25) to examine the Auditor General's reports and current performance for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. The percentage of forests in the countries of the world is considered to be 31% and it is commendable that the percentage of forests in Sri Lanka country is at the level of 30%, the officials of the Department of Forest Conservation pointed out.
The Committee questioned the officials as to why the entire forest system in Sri Lanka has not been gazetted. Officials stated that as of 2018, about 1.4 million hectares of forests have been gazetted and there are about two hundred and fifty-six thousand hectares of forests that have not been gazetted. Accordingly, the Committee Chair instructed to gazette the forests which are yet to be Gazzeted soon as possible and to send a report to the Committee within two months, including the time taken to gazette and which authority will be in charge of the forests after gazetting.
Officials pointed out that the highest number of local and foreign tourists visiting the World Heritage Sinharaja Forest has been recorded this year. A total of more than 35000 tourists have come to visit the Sinharaja forest in the past few months. The Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to increase the necessary facilities for tourists without damaging the forest.
Meanwhile, the Committee questioned the officials regarding the Department of Forest Conservation not maintaining a centralized data system at the head office to provide information. Accordingly, the officials informed the Committee that the preliminary work has already been initiated and the Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to send a report on the same to the Committee.
Furthermore, the Committee was informed that effective internal control measures have not been established to recover the arrears of the Department of Forest Conservation. The officials of the National Audit Office pointed out to the Committee that there are black stone quarries, small-scale hydroelectric power plants and transmission towers to get shortfall income. According to this, the officials stated that the black stone mining in Melasa exceeds the license granted by the Department of Conservation for black stone quarrying. Accordingly, the Committee Chair gave instructions make arrangements to provide only the required quantity of the explosives required for the same while contacting the relevant agencies while granting licenses for black stone quarrying. Furthermore, the officials pointed out that there is a huge amount of money to be received from the telephone communication institutions through the provision of transmission towers. Accordingly, the Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to arrange to collect all the arrears.
In the meantime, the Committee gave instructions to pay more attention to the plant named Wallapatta as it is a plant that has a high potential to bring foreign exchange to Sri Lanka. The the officials informed the Committee that there is no law banning the cultivation of Wallapatta plant. However, they pointed out that it is prohibited to cut these plants from forests and carry them illegally without fruit. The officials also pointed out that the imported plant called Aquilaria, which has the same characteristics as the Wallapatta plant, has already started cultivation in Sri Lanka. The officials further stated that it is not easy to distinguish between Wallapatta and Aquilaria plants. It was pointed out that due to the difficulty of identification, the smugglers are trying to advertise the Wallapatta plants cut from the forests as plants obtained from private plantations. To avoid that situation, the officials informed the Committee that they will do the necessary work to identify the two types of plants through a scientific method.
State Minister Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Members of Parliament Hon. Madhura Withanage, Hon. (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, and Hon. Isuru Dodangoda, and a group of officials were present at this Committee meeting held.
2026-07-22
The draft Terms of Reference (ToR) prepared for the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative was approved recently at a meeting held in Parliament with the participation of Parliament's development partner organizations.The approval was granted during a meeting of the Caucus chaired by its Co-Chair, Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakkiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam.The draft Terms of Reference was developed based on proposals and recommendations received during a workshop organized by the Caucus in recent months to gather stakeholder input for its preparation.The meeting also agreed that, following the approval of the Terms of Reference, the document would be submitted to Hon. President, and that a discussion would be held with the President on behalf of the Caucus.
2026-07-22
The Sub-Committee appointed by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on the methodology, implementation timeline and coordination arrangements relating to the research study proposed for the restructuring of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE), when it met recently, at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Ruwan Mapalagama.During the meeting, discussions were held on the establishment of the proposed Institutional Operations Committee and a six-member Coordination Team to facilitate the implementation of the research. Attention was also focused on the proposed Mixed-Methods Design, the preparation of questionnaires and the data collection process.The Sub-Committee further reviewed the progress of obtaining public views on the restructuring of SLIATE. Matters relating to obtaining the contribution of the Human Resources and Management Information Systems (MIS) divisions for the research, the preparation of the research implementation timeline through a Gantt Chart, and the stakeholder consultations to be held with representatives of the industry sector were also considered.The programme to obtain the views of stakeholders, including Chambers of Commerce, industry associations and professional bodies, as well as the conduct of field visits to selected SLIATE institutions across the country, was also discussed.The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the future activities of the research in accordance with the agreed timeline and to present the relevant progress reports at its next meeting.Hon. Member of Parliament Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Prageeth Madhuranga also attended the meeting.
2026-07-22
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on referring the matters revealed in relation to land misuse, financial irregularities and administrative deficiencies at the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for a formal investigation.The matter was taken up when the Committee met recently at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera to continue its examination of the Auditor General's Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and to consider the remaining matters relating to the current performance of the National Housing Development Authority.During the meeting, lengthy discussions were held regarding the leasing of valuable NHDA-owned lands located at Maligawatta, Elvitigala Mawatha and Rangirigama, Dambulla to external parties at low nominal values without Cabinet approval, the use of such lands for purposes contrary to the conditions stipulated in the relevant agreements, and the failure to adequately safeguard the Authority's assets.The Committee observed that many of these transactions had been carried out in contravention of the objectives of the National Housing Development Authority and the relevant legal provisions. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that comprehensive reports on the identified irregularities be referred to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption for the institution of appropriate legal action.The Committee also instructed the officials to expedite internal audit investigations into these matters, identify the officers responsible and initiate disciplinary action against them. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the necessary measures be taken to strengthen asset management and internal control systems in order to prevent the recurrence of such irregularities in the future.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Dayasiri Jayasekara, S.M. Marikkar, Attorney-at-Law Sujeewa Senasinghe, Mujibur Rahman, Chaminda Wijesiri, Dr. S. Sri Bavanandarajah, Sunil Rajapaksha, Thilina Samarakoon, Chandima Hettiarachchi, Asitha Niroshana Egodavithana, Ruwan Mapalagama, Jagath Manuwarna, Dinesh Hemantha, M.K.M. Aslam and Sudath Balagalla.
2026-07-21
Discussions focus on strengthening disability-inclusive legislation and policy implementationThe Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities held discussions with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and representatives of several United Nations agencies at Parliament with a view to strengthening cooperation in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and advancing disability-inclusive legislation and policies in Sri Lanka.The meeting was held in Parliament under the Chairmanship of the Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva recently.Addressing the meeting, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Marc-André Franche, commended the Parliament for establishing the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities and emphasized the importance of treating disability inclusion as a national priority across all sectors. He reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to provide technical expertise and institutional support in areas including legislative reforms, accessibility, inclusive education, employment, community-based rehabilitation and strengthening national coordination.The UNICEF Representative, Ms. Begoña Arellano, highlighted the need to safeguard the rights of children with disabilities, particularly in relation to health, nutrition and education, while emphasizing the important oversight role of Parliament in ensuring the effective implementation of disability-inclusive policies.Representatives of UNFPA, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers also briefed the Caucus on ongoing initiatives relating to youth, education, disability data collection, employment opportunities and social inclusion.During the meeting, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, informed the Caucus that the proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill and the Sign Language Bill are currently with the Attorney General's Department and are expected to be presented to Parliament on September 2026. He further stated that measures are underway to improve accessibility in public institutions, expand employment opportunities, introduce educational grants for university students with disabilities and establish ten day-care centres for children with disabilities within this year.The Caucus also discussed future initiatives, including the preparation of disability-inclusive budget proposals by Government Ministries, the finalisation of a national disability database and the conduct of a sensitisation programme for journalists to promote a rights-based approach to disability related reporting.The meeting concluded with the Chair, Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva, reiterating the Caucus's core theme, "An unhindered social life," and calling for continued, unified collaboration to make an inclusive society a reality.The meeting was attended by the Deputy Co-Chairs of the Caucus, Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka, and Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Members of Parliament and representatives of the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers.
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