2025-09-16
News Categories : Committee News
Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, stated that following a new feasibility study, a decision will be taken regarding how the Oluvil Harbour can be utilized. He expressed these views during the meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, chaired by him, which convened in Parliament on the Sep. 9th. Hon. Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Rathna Gamage, also participated in this meeting.
At this meeting, there was a lengthy discussion regarding the operation of the Oluvil Fishery Harbour. The Minister stated that new feasibility studies are being carried out to rectify the damage caused by the construction of the Oluvil Harbour without conducting proper studies, and that future plans will be formulated based on those studies. In addition, the Hon. Deputy Minister stated that in order to meet the need for a fishery harbour in the Eastern Province, the Valachchenai Fishery Harbour will be expanded into a modern harbour with new facilities by 2026, and that a factory for ice production required for the fisheries industry in that area is also planned to be established.
At this occasion, Hon. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa raised a query regarding reports that the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation (CFC) has been included in the list of government institutions to be liquidated. Responding to this, the Hon. Deputy Minister stated that those reports are not true. He further emphasized that the publication of such false reports has also become an issue for the Ministry, and that the Government has not taken such a decision.
Furthermore, responding to a question raised by the Hon. Opposition Leader regarding the pension scheme for fishermen, the Hon. Deputy Minister stated that from November 21 onwards, a new pension scheme for the entire fishing community in this country will be established. He further explained that since it can be referred to as a contributory pension scheme, it will be a new pension scheme that provides benefits to the fishing community according to the amount of their contributions.
At this meeting, several other matters relevant to the mandate of the Ministry, including the issues faced by fishermen in other parts of the country, were also discussed at length.
This meeting was attended by Hon. Ministers, Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament, and a group of officials of the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources.
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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