2025-03-08
News Categories : Committee News
The Hon. Minister of Power, Kumara Jayakody, stated that the wind power project that was to be carried out with the Adani company has not yet been canceled.
The Hon. Minister made this statement during the first meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy of the First Session of the Tenth Parliament, which was held recently (Mar. 06) at the Parliament under his Chairmanship.
During the meeting held, Hon. Members of Parliament inquired about the said project, Hon. Minister Kumara Jayakody further stated that, as the pricing of Adani Company’s power project was high, the matter had been referred to the Cabinet for reconsideration. At that time, Indian Adani parent company had sent a letter to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka informing that they were withdrawing from this project, and accordingly, the Board of Investment had informed the Ministry regarding the same, the minister further said. However, discussions regarding the wind power project were held with the representative institution of Adani in Sri Lanka, and thus, that institution had been informed to consider this matter, the Minister pointed out. Therefore, the Minister stated that a response regarding this matter is expected within two weeks following the letter that was sent.
He further emphasized that only if a negative response is received within these two weeks it will be necessary to move toward an alternative. Additionally, he stated that in the future, such projects will only be carried out through government-to-government (G2G) agreements and competitive procurement.
Furthermore, attention was also drawn regarding the steps taken to fill the existing vacancies in the Ceylon Electricity Board, including for engineers. The officials present pointed out that during the period of economic crisis, many engineers had migrated overseas, creating vacancies. However, they further noted that Cabinet approval had recently been obtained to fill these vacancies under three phases, and recruitment for the first batch is currently underway.
Moreover, discussions were held regarding unexpected power outages, with officials highlighting that even minor fluctuations in the system have the potential to destabilize it. Therefore, they stated that efforts are currently being made to maintain system stability by utilizing other energy sources such as solar power.
Additionally, attention was drawn to the inadequate maintenance of streetlights, and the Committee emphasized the necessity for local government institutions and the Electricity Board to work together on this matter. Particularly, as this is a nationally essential issue, the Committee suggested that local government institutions and the Electricity Board should engage in discussions. Moreover, the Minister stated that a policy on this matter will be formulated and finalized within two months.
Furthermore, discussions were held regarding matters related to the Ministry at the provincial, district, and divisional levels.
Members of the Ministerial Consultative Committee, including Hon. Members of Parliament, participated in this meeting.
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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