2025-02-20
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized today (Feb. 20) in Parliament that investigations have disclosed that underworld activities have infiltrated certain individuals within official institutions responsible for public security. He further stated that all necessary measures will be taken to completely eradicate the underworld in the future, while also acknowledging that this process will take some time.
The President made these remarks during the first meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence of the 10th Parliament, held today (20) in Parliament under his Chairmanship.
During the discussions held regarding the security of court complexes in the country, Hon. Minister of Justice and National Integration, Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney at Law, stated that a proposal has been prepared regarding the security of the court complexes and in the future measures will be taken to increase the security of the court complexes by using modern technology by examining all the parties including lawyers.
Furthermore, Hon. Members of Parliament raised concerns regarding the release of lands in the Northern and Eastern provinces that are currently occupied by military camps, to their original owners. In response, the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense stated that a reassessment or evaluation will be conducted not only for lands in the Northern and Eastern provinces but across the entire country occupied by the tri-forces, and appropriate decisions will be taken regarding their release.
Hon. Members of Parliament also inquired regarding military-run businesses, including tourist hotels, and their potential for being directed towards more productive investments in the tourism industry. In response, the President stated that a study will be conducted in this regard, and appropriate decisions will be made to utilize these businesses to achieve economic benefits.
Moreover, Hon. Members of Parliament stated that there is a possibility of some ethnic and religious divisions based on certain shrines established in the Northern Province. In response, the Hon. President emphasized that religious and ethnic extremism should be completely removed from politics. He further stated that all such issues can be resolved based on the genuine aspirations of the residents of those areas. He also highlighted that certain groups seeking narrow political gains tend to turn such situations into political conflicts. Therefore, he affirmed that steps will be taken to ensure that no one is given the opportunity to incite ethnic or religious divisions for political advantage.
Additionally, the need to establish a Committee pertaining to National Disaster Management was also highlighted during the discussion. Accordingly, the President instructed officials to expedite the necessary processes to complete this task promptly.
Among those present at the event were the Hon. Deputy Speaker Dr Rizvie Salih, Hon. Deputy Minister of Defense Major General (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekera, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and several Members of Parliament. Also in attendance were the Secretary to the Ministry of Defense Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), the heads of the tri-forces, officials from the Ministry of Defence and its affiliated institutions, as well as Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne, along with several other officials.
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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