2025-02-13
News Categories : Committee News
The
Hon. Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam
Chandrasekar stated that necessary measures are being taken to prevent
Indian fishermen from illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.
He
expressed these views during the first meeting of the Ministerial
Consultative Committee on Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources which
was held in Parliament, recently (Feb. 07) under his Chairmanship. The
Hon. Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Rathna
Gamage, was also present at the Committee meeting held.
Accordingly, the Hon. Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar stated that discussion is underway with Tamil Nadu and the Indian High Commissioner to resolve this issue regarding Indian fishermen. He further mentioned that a swift resolution to this issue, which has affected local fishermen, would be provided without resorting to conflicts.
Furthermore, extensive discussions were also held on initiating a joint program between the Ministries of Fisheries and Trade to sell fish through Lanka Sathosa. Expressing his views on this matter, the Hon. Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe, stated that there are plans to expand Lanka Sathosa network in the future and that the necessary arrangements could be made to sell fish through these stores. Officials representing the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation, commenting on the matter, stated that they are looking forward to promptly implementing the required measures to sell fish through Lanka Sathosa. Accordingly, they further stated that plans are in place to package the relevant fish varieties in a manner that makes them more convenient for consumers to prepare.
During this meeting, various issues pertaining to the fisheries industry across the country were brought to the attention of the relevant officials by the Hon. Members of Parliament. Extensive discussions were held within the Committee on matters such as illegal fishing using prohibited nets and dynamite, issues related to Freshwater fisheries, and issues pertaining to domestic harbors. Expressing his views, the Committee Chair instructed the relevant officials to take necessary actions regarding the said issues. Additionally, he stated that the Ministry is paying more attention to the renovation of harbors in the Northern and Eastern provinces and is working towards resolving the existing issues.
Moreover, The Annual Report of the Fishery Board Statutory Corporation for the year 2021 and the Annual Performance Report of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for the year 2023 were also considered and approved in the Committee.
This committee meeting was attended by Hon. Ministers, Hon. Deputy Ministers, Committee Members including Hon. Members of Parliament, and officials from the Ministery of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, among others.
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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