2025-03-03
News Categories : Committee News
Discussions were held at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, regarding SLTB bus drivers who operate services while bypassing school children and citizens with a bus season ticket.
During the meeting, the Hon. Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, Bimal Rathnayake, stated that any citizen could report such incidents by calling 1958. He further emphasized his awareness of the said issue and assured that stringent measures would be taken against such misconduct. He also mentioned that SLTB drivers and conductors had been duly informed of the matter.
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports met under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Minister Bimal Rathnayake on 28.02.2025 at Parliament, where these issues were discussed. The meeting was attended by the Hon. Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, (Dr.) Prasanna Gunasena along with both government and opposition Members of Parliament, as well as officials from state institutions affiliated with the ministry.
Furthermore, the Committee Chair expressed his concern regarding the lack of initiative from railway department officials in addressing the harm caused to elephants, despite the availability of technology. He pointed out with regret the incident where six elephants perished due to a train collision, calling it a deeply unfortunate occurrence. He expressed disappointment over the railway department officials in failing to utilize the GPS technology to mitigate such incidents and expressed his dissatisfaction over their inaction.
Hon. Minister Bimal Ratnayake issued directives to the railway department officials to take all necessary measures to prevent such occurrences. In response, the officials stated that discussions were already underway and that immediate steps were being taken to address the issue. Additionally, an ad hoc Parliamentary Committee was established, comprising Members of Parliament, to formulate an efficient management system within the railway department.
Discussions also covered the issue of the container congestion at the port, with the Hon. Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation briefing Members of Parliament on the steps taken to address the matter.
Accordingly, to mitigate the delays caused by containers being held at the port, additional staff had been swiftly recruited. To alleviate congestion within the port, approximately two acres of land in Bloemendhal area had been allocated to customs for vehicle parking, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku stated. He further highlighted that the Port Community System, which is a digital technology initiative, had been launched as a long-term and sustainable solution.
Additionally, the Annual Report of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for the year 2023, along with the Annual Report of Jaya Container Terminals Limited for the year 2023, was reviewed and approved during the Ministerial Consultative Committee meeting held.
Moreover, a progress review was presented by the chairpersons of the three subcommittees appointed under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation to seek legal and administrative solutions for issues related to transport, highways, ports, and civil aviation.
2026-01-09
Committee draws attention to the need to recruit IT OfficersCommittee highlights the failure to update the official website of the Department of ArchaeologyThe Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) emphasized the necessity of maintaining a centralized data system containing comprehensive information on antiquities and archaeological excavations.This matter was discussed when COPA met in Parliament on 06th January 2026, under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim, to examine the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 relating to the Department of Archaeology, as well as the department’s current performance.The Committee recalled that at its meeting held on 03rd October 2023, it had recommended the establishment and maintenance of a data system incorporating information on all archaeological excavation sites in the country, discoveries made through such excavations, the success or failure of those excavations, whether further excavations should be continued, and details of other locations requiring excavation.When the Chair inquired into the current progress, the officials present stated that a comprehensive database containing all such information has not yet been established, and that a data system is currently maintained only in relation to excavation permits.Accordingly, the Committee stressed that it is critically important to establish and continuously update such a data system, and informed officials that COPA is prepared to provide assistance if required. The Chair further emphasized the importance of assigning a sufficient number of IT officers to the Department of Archaeology.Officials informed the Committee that although approval had been granted by the Department of Management Services to recruit 12 IT officers, currently only one officer is in service, and that officer is not attached to the head office. The Committee therefore instructed that urgent action be taken to fill the existing vacancies.The Chair also recommended that a formal proposal with regard to the centralized, up-to-date database on archaeological excavations be submitted to the Committee within three months.The Committee further drew attention to the failure to update the official website of the Department of Archaeology. Members pointed out that maintaining an updated official website is vital for tourist attraction. Accordingly, the Committee instructed the Department to prepare a mechanism and take prompt action to update the website.Additionally, the Committee took note that 48% of the total archaeological sites identified as at 31 December 2023 have not yet been gazetted. The Committee recommended that a report containing full details of gazetted and non-gazetted sites be submitted within one month.Furthermore, the Committee recommended the submission of a report on sites identified for nomination to UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, along with the relevant draft proposals.The meeting was attended by Committee Members, Hon. Deputy Ministers Sugath Thilakaratne, Aravinda Senarath, and Nalin Hewage, and Committee Members Hon. Members of parliament M. L. A. M. Hisbullah, Dr. Janaka Senarathna, T. K. Jayasundara, Chandana Sooriyarachchi, (Attorney at Law) Sagarika Athauda, (Attorney at Law) Thushari Jayasinghe, Oshani Umanga, Lal Premanath, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody and Sunil Ratnasiri.
2026-01-08
Approval of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour has been granted for the Regulation under Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act (Chapter 129), scheduled for debate in Parliament tomorrow (Jan. 9).This approval was granted at the meeting of the Committee held in Parliament on 2026.01.06, chaired by the Minister of Labour (Dr.) Anil Jayantha and with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe.This Regulation, made by the Minister of Labour on 2025.12.12, was presented to Parliament on 2025.12.18. The Regulation amends the current legal provision which states:“Any female employee who has attained the age of eighteen years may be employed in a residential hotel after 6.00 p.m and before 6.00 a.m, on the work of a female reception officer, ladies linen room attendant, ladies cloak room attendant or ladies lavatory attendant.”Accordingly, the Regulation introduces the required legal amendments to allow, in addition to the designated categories already permitted, female workers over the age of 18 employed in residential hotels as Food and Beverage Stewardess to be engaged in employment after 6.00 p.m. or before 6.00 a.m. on the following day.However, officials informed the Committee that under this Regulation, in any instance where the work shift of a female employer employed under this provision ends between 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., the employer shall be responsible for ensuring her health care, safety and welfare by providing suitable accommodation until 6.00 a.m. or providing transport facilities to her usual residence.Although the current female population in Sri Lanka is approximately 51%, female labour force participation is around 34%. It was discussed that easing existing legal restrictions is a timely need in order to create opportunities to increase female labour contributions, especially to support the rapidly developing tourism sector.A number of proposals on measures that can be taken to safeguard the rights of female workers and other employees, as well as matters relating to increasing the wages of plantation workers, were presented to the Committee by Hon. Members of Parliament. The Hon. Minister of Labour stated that discussions on these matters will be carried out in the future and necessary steps will be taken accordingly.A number of Members of Parliament, the Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, and officials representing the Ministry of Labour and institutions under it also participated in this Committee meeting.
2026-01-08
A meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence was held yesterday (Jan. 07) evening in the Parliament premises under the chairmanship of Hon. President and Minister of Defence Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.At this meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence, Members of Parliament raised several issues such as reviewing the progress of the implementation of decisions reached at previous committee meetings, the release of lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the opening of roads, and the functioning of schools.Accordingly, His Excellency the President issued the necessary instructions to officials to provide feasible solutions to those matters, and discussions were also held regarding existing obstacles and the steps to be taken in carrying out these activities.Matters such as the welfare of members of the defence forces and deploying more personnel for the United Nations peacekeeping forces were also discussed.Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera was also present at this meeting, along with several Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament. Likewise, a group including the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Heads of the Tri-Forces, several senior officials of the defence sector, the Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, and officials of the Ministry were also present at this meeting.
2026-01-08
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development has approved the Regulations under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) scheduled to be presented to Parliament for approval on 08.01.2025.Accordingly, this approval was granted at the recent (Jan. 06) meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake.As such, the Regulations published in the Extraordinary Gazette bearing No. 2452/40 under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) state that in an instance where a police officer has reasonable suspicion that a person driving, operating or physically controlling a motor vehicle on any road has used drugs, such police officer shall produce that person to a Government Medical Officer or an officer of a hospital who has been empowered for the purpose, for further examination.Furthermore, the Regulations published in the Extraordinary Gazette bearing No. 2455/29 under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) state that every person travelling on an expressway must wear a seat belt. Accordingly, the Committee granted approval for the said Regulations.In addition, officials of the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development briefed the Committee on the damage caused due to the sudden disaster situation that arose within the country and the progress of restoration efforts. Officials of the Road Development Authority stated that approximately 287 road sections belonging to the Authority, covering a distance of around 1481 kilometers, have been damaged. They further informed the Committee that the estimated cost for reconstruction would be around Rs. 86 billion.Officials of the Railway Department stated that the Department has incurred a loss of approximately Rs. 300 billion. Furthermore, officials stated that the Sri Lanka Transport Board has suffered a loss of around Rs. 63 million due to the emergency disaster situation.The Chair of the Committee also stated that a web page has been created to inform the public regarding the damage caused to the road system in various parts of the country. Accordingly, he pointed out that the public may access the page https://road-lk.org/ to obtain information on the relevant damage.Hon. Deputy Chairman of the Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Hon. State Minister of Transport and Highways (Dr.) Prasanna Gunasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara, other Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and several government officials were present at this occasion.
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