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Former COPE Chairman: Budget will facilitate land grabs

Published

3 years ago

2022/11/17

By Saman Indrajith

SLPP dissident MP Prof Charitha Herath on Tuesday said Budget 2023 contained proposals to place state lands under the purview of District and Divisional Secretaries on the pretext of promoting cultivation.

Participating in the second reading debate on Budget 2023, Prof. Herath said the proposal, if implemented, would enable the cronies of the ruling party to get hold of government lands. “The LRC lands had been misappropriated for the political gains by every government, since 1977. There are some wrongs in the manner of LRC lands were utilised. Now this Budget is proposing to give legitimacy to that wrong procedure. We summoned the LRC, two or three times before the Committee on Public Enterprises, and investigated the matter, to find that there had been many shortcomings in the LRC land utilisation process. We instructed the officials to right those wrongs. Now Budget 2023 proposes that these LRC lands should be placed under District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries and allow them to decide to whom those lands should be given for the purpose of cultivating them. The proposal would prune down the powers of the Lands Minister.

“We do not approve the status quo of the LRC because every lands minister has placed the LRC under his or her friends who in return placed the lands at LRC under the mercy of the Minister. This should come to an end but not in the manner that has been envisaged by Budget 2023.

“I call on those SLPP members thinking to vote to pass this Budget to take this proposal seriously and consider amending it. People who had voted for the SLPP did not vote us to be a part of such wrong acts, such as robbing the LRC lands in the guise of distributing them for cultivation,” Prof Herath said.

He added that the Budget proposals seem to achieve some political agendas rather than finding answers to the woes of the people who have been hit hard by the economic crisis.

“Some of these proposals are similar to what Ranil Wickremesinghe had promised during the presidential elections campaigns in 1999 and 2005. People have rejected them by voting against him. It is sad to notice that some of our SLPP MPs are planning to vote for these proposals which are against the wishes and aspirations of those who had voted for us.

“I personally do not think that most of these proposals are feasible. They are not feasible because they are fundamentally wrong. For example, the National Development Committee proposed in the Section 17.2 of the Budget proposals is to become a cabal of a few henchmen of the President. That would be one similar to the Paskaralingam, and a few, who ran the government affairs in 2015. This cabal is to be placed above the Cabinet of Ministers and the Cabinet would be rendered inactive. This committee is to be given powers of monitoring and screening development projects. It is that committee that would select the development projects not the Cabinet which would be forced to give consent.

“In addition, I do not think that some of the proposals are serious. Eight months back, Ranil Wickremesinghe presented a mini-budget to this very same House. When we compare it with the latest one, we find many contradictions. The proposals for the same area or same subject matter are diametrically opposite from each document. It is sure that there are two groups of authors for these two proposals.

“In the mini-budget proposals read to this House on Aug 30, it was promised to set up a Debt Management agency. No such agency has been set up nor is there a single word about it in the present Budget. There had also been a proposal for a National Agency for Public-Private Partnership in the mini-budget. Budget 2023 has not even mentioned it. Also the mini-budget spoke of setting up of a series of companies as youth agriculture companies. That too is absent in the new Budget. The mini-budget promised a road to recovery but that concept has totally been forgotten in the new Budget. So it is clear that these Budget proposals are only a word game to fool the people and international community. These words have no meaning in practical level,” Prof Herath said.

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota and Monaragala districts during the day time

Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/5

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 04 May 2026, valid for 05 May 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota and Monaragala districts during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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Maldivian President plants a sapling to mark 60 years of Sri Lanka–Maldives Diplomatic Relations

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a State Visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, planted a sapling this afternoon (04) at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Upon arrival at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Children lined both sides of the pathway holding the national flags of the two countries and paid tribute to the visiting Maldivian President.

Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Speaker Rizvi Salih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath and the Mayor of Colombo, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, along with several other dignitaries.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

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Sri Lanka and Maldives strengthen ties with productive bilateral talks

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Following the bilateral meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives, who is currently on a State visit to Sri Lanka, official-level bilateral discussions between the delegations of the two countries were held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The discussions commenced after the formal welcome ceremony accorded to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning within the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Extending a warm welcome to the Maldivian President, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his appreciation for accepting the invitation to visit Sri Lanka.

President Dissanayake noted that President Muizzu’s visit, taking place as the two nations mark 61 years of diplomatic relations, reflects the strong partnership, mutual trust and longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The President further expressed confidence that the visit would mark a new phase in bilateral relations.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on ways to further expand and diversify multifaceted cooperation, including economic, cultural and social ties, in a manner that delivers mutual benefits to the people of both countries.

Key areas of focus included tourism promotion, educational cooperation, youth and sports development, challenges faced by both nations in the fisheries sector within the Indian Ocean region, education and vocational training, as well as defence training and broader security cooperation.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena; Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (covering Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Legal Affairs) M. R. K. Lenagala, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassan and Director (South Asia and SAARC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mahesha Jayawardena.

The Maldivian delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, Chief of Staff to the President, Abdulla Fayaz, Principal Secretary to the President on Foreign Relations, Mohamed Naseer; Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka,Masood Imad; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol , Mohamed Shahudy, Deputy Minister at the President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Hassaan and Minister Counsellor at the Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ismail Mamdhooh.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]