2024-08-02
News Categories : Committee News
It was disclosed at the Committee on Public Accounts that Sri Lanka is among the 3 countries in the world where the population density is more than 300 per square kilometer and the forest population is maintained at 30%. Accordingly, apart from Sri Lanka, only two countries, namely South Korea and Japan, maintain such a forest system, the officials of the Department of Forest Conservation said.
These facts came to light when the Committee on Public Accounts met in Parliament under the Chairmanship of State Minister Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna. The Department of Forest Conservation was called before the Committee recently (Jul. 25) to examine the Auditor General's reports and current performance for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. The percentage of forests in the countries of the world is considered to be 31% and it is commendable that the percentage of forests in Sri Lanka country is at the level of 30%, the officials of the Department of Forest Conservation pointed out.
The Committee questioned the officials as to why the entire forest system in Sri Lanka has not been gazetted. Officials stated that as of 2018, about 1.4 million hectares of forests have been gazetted and there are about two hundred and fifty-six thousand hectares of forests that have not been gazetted. Accordingly, the Committee Chair instructed to gazette the forests which are yet to be Gazzeted soon as possible and to send a report to the Committee within two months, including the time taken to gazette and which authority will be in charge of the forests after gazetting.
Officials pointed out that the highest number of local and foreign tourists visiting the World Heritage Sinharaja Forest has been recorded this year. A total of more than 35000 tourists have come to visit the Sinharaja forest in the past few months. The Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to increase the necessary facilities for tourists without damaging the forest.
Meanwhile, the Committee questioned the officials regarding the Department of Forest Conservation not maintaining a centralized data system at the head office to provide information. Accordingly, the officials informed the Committee that the preliminary work has already been initiated and the Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to send a report on the same to the Committee.
Furthermore, the Committee was informed that effective internal control measures have not been established to recover the arrears of the Department of Forest Conservation. The officials of the National Audit Office pointed out to the Committee that there are black stone quarries, small-scale hydroelectric power plants and transmission towers to get shortfall income. According to this, the officials stated that the black stone mining in Melasa exceeds the license granted by the Department of Conservation for black stone quarrying. Accordingly, the Committee Chair gave instructions make arrangements to provide only the required quantity of the explosives required for the same while contacting the relevant agencies while granting licenses for black stone quarrying. Furthermore, the officials pointed out that there is a huge amount of money to be received from the telephone communication institutions through the provision of transmission towers. Accordingly, the Committee Chair gave instructions to the officials to arrange to collect all the arrears.
In the meantime, the Committee gave instructions to pay more attention to the plant named Wallapatta as it is a plant that has a high potential to bring foreign exchange to Sri Lanka. The the officials informed the Committee that there is no law banning the cultivation of Wallapatta plant. However, they pointed out that it is prohibited to cut these plants from forests and carry them illegally without fruit. The officials also pointed out that the imported plant called Aquilaria, which has the same characteristics as the Wallapatta plant, has already started cultivation in Sri Lanka. The officials further stated that it is not easy to distinguish between Wallapatta and Aquilaria plants. It was pointed out that due to the difficulty of identification, the smugglers are trying to advertise the Wallapatta plants cut from the forests as plants obtained from private plantations. To avoid that situation, the officials informed the Committee that they will do the necessary work to identify the two types of plants through a scientific method.
State Minister Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Members of Parliament Hon. Madhura Withanage, Hon. (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, and Hon. Isuru Dodangoda, and a group of officials were present at this Committee meeting held.
2025-07-28
The recommendations of the Committee on High Posts, which met on the July 24th at Parliament approved the appointments of 5 new Ambassadors, a High Commissioner, and a Secretary to the Ministry. Accordingly, Miss. Sumadhurika Sashikala Premawardhane as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs. C.A. Chaminda Inoka Colonne as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Federative Republic of Brazil, Mr. Mohamed Rizvi Hassen as the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Maldives, Mr. L.R.M.N.P.G.B. Kadurugamuwa as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Turkey, Mrs. Ruwanthi Delpitiya as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Nepal, and Mr. Marimuththu K. Pathmanaathan as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of South Korea have been recomended by the Committee on High Posts. Furthermore, the name of Miss. Ayesha Jinasena (PC) has also been recommended by the Committee on High Posts for the appointment as the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration. The Committee on High Posts, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, comprised of the following Members of Parliament: Hon. Kumara Jayakody, Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha, Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney at Law, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni, Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, and Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC.
2025-07-28
A working Committee was appointed pertaining to the future activities of the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs, established for the Tenth Parliament. The purpose of this working Committee is to implement the programmes expected to be carried out by the Caucus for the advancement of the arts and cultural sectors of the country and to obtain ideas and proposals from experts and scholars in the respective fields for that purpose. Hon. Members of Parliament Prof. Sena Nanayakkara, Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney-at-Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law, Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Susantha Dodawatta, Attorney-at-Law, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dinesh Hemantha were appointed as members of this Committee. These appointments were made during the meeting of the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs, held recently (Jul. 22) in Parliament, under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Jagath Manuwarna, Chair of the Caucus. At this meeting, lengthy discussions were held regarding the steps that could be taken to uplift the cultural, literary, and arts sectors of the country, to promote the development of artists and professionals engaged in those fields, and on the necessity of fostering an interest among the general public and children in art appreciation. It was also proposed by the Member MPs that programmes should be initiated to create awareness among Members of Parliament and the parliamentary staff regarding the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs. Hon. Members of Parliament Prof. Sena Nanayakkara, Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney-at-Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law, Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Susantha Dodawatta, Attorney-at-Law, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dinesh Hemantha were present at this Committee meeting held.
2025-07-28
No shortage of very essential medical items – Ministry of Health officials The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Health, Media and Women's Empowerment inquired into the medicine shortage and related matters at the Committee meeting held recently (Jul. 23), under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nihal Abeysinghe. Officials from the Ministry of Health informed the Committee that the current shortage of medicines has arisen due to delays in placing orders in previous years. However, they assured the Committee that procurement process for the year 2026 has already taken commenced, and there will be no shortage in 2026. They further stated that by the end of this year, 80% to 90% of essential medicine items are expected to be available in the country. In response to an inquiry made by the Committee regarding the availability of very essential medical items, the Ministry officials confirmed that there is no shortage of such items at present. Furthermore, the Committee also considered and approved the Annual Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, the Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation, and the Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital. While reviewing these reports, the Committee raised concerns over unresolved audit queries related to these institutions. The Committee Chair recommended that an internal review mechanism be established within the Ministry to ensure timely and appropriate responses to audit observations. Hon. Deputy Minister Muneer Mulaffer, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Dayasiri Jayasekara, Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan, (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, Samanmali Gunasingha, (Prof.) Sena Nanayakkara, (Dr.) S. Sri Bavanandarajah and Jagath Manuwarna were present at the Committee meeting. Officials representing the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, including Secretary to the Ministry Dr. Anil Jasinghe, also participated in the meeting.
2025-07-28
The proposed Education Reform Plan was taken into discussion at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital. The discussions were held when the Committee met on the Jul. 25th at Parliament, under the chairmanship of Hon. Hesha Withanage, Member of Parliament. Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, representatives of the National Education Commission, the Director General of the National Institute of Education, along with several other senior officials of the Ministry of Education, participated in this meeting. The Ministry officials explained in detail to the Committee the steps taken to prepare the proposed Education Reform Plan and also presented the steps taken in the past in this regard. The Chair of the Committee stated that experts from relevant sectors who have been involved in reforming the education sector in the past are expected to be consulted to examine the proposed Education Reform Plan more comprehensively. He further stated that the full support of the Committee will be extended to ensure the proper implementation of the Education Reform Plan. Committee Members also emphasized the need for properly structuring the syllabus when implementing reforms in the education sector and pointed out the factors that should be considered in that regard. Meanwhile, the attention of the Sectoral Oversight Committee was also drawn to the Samurdhi (Amendment) Bill. The Committee inquired into the operations of the Samurdhi Bank, and the relevant approval was granted to present the said Bill to Parliament for the Second Reading. Hon. Members of Parliament Sunil Rajapaksha, Chanaka Madugoda, Thurairasa Ravikaran, Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney at Law, and Krishnan Kalaichelvi participated in this Committee meeting.
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