News
CA orders AG to report on measures taken to halt circulation of unlicenced guns
The Court of Appeal, on Monday, heard a writ petition challenging the Defence Ministry’s decision to issue 13,207 firearms to farmers in December 2024, with the State revealing that fewer than half of the weapons have been legally licensed.
Deputy Solicitor General Dr. Avanti Perera told the bench that licences had been issued for only 5,000 of the firearms distributed under the crop-protection programme.
The petition, filed by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, was taken up before Justices Rohantha Abeysuriya and K. Priyantha Fernando. The petitioners argue that the weapons distributed “indiscriminately” are being used to kill elephants, a strictly protected species under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO).
President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena, appearing for the petitioner, said the organisation was satisfied that the Minister would honour the Attorney General’s earlier undertaking to implement the National Action Plan for Human-Elephant Conflict mitigation as required under Section 68A of the FFPO.
However, he stressed that the core concerns remained unresolved, especially the “uncontrolled circulation of firearms” resulting from the mass distribution. Citing the DSG’s disclosure, he said several thousand unlicensed weapons were now “unaccounted for,” posing severe risks.
Jayawardena PC urged the authorities to halt further distribution, trace and recover already issued firearms, and prosecute individuals unlawfully in possession of them. The petitioner seeks orders to stop what it describes as the “wanton, en masse issuance” of guns and to replace it with a scientifically grounded strategy to manage the human-elephant conflict.
The Court of Appeal directed the Attorney General to report on further measures to address the concerns raised. The case was fixed for mention on 06 February, 2026.
Sanjeeva Jayawardena PC appeared for the petitioner with Counsel Prashanthi Mahindraratne, Dilumi de Alwis and Lakmini Warusevitane.
DSG Dr. Avanti Perera appeared for the respondents.
By A.J.A. Abeynayake
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to accept 08 used low floorboard buses offered as a grant by the Government of Japan.
News
Payment of the financial subsidy for fertilizer to farmers cultivating paddy lands for the Yala season 2026.
While approval has been granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 18.08.2025 to pay the financial subsidy for fertilizer to farmers cultivating paddy lands for the Maha season 2025/26, the programme is planned to be continued for the Yala season 2026 as well.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to pay a financial subsidy of Rupees 25,000/- per hectare and for a maximum of 02 hectares per farmer for paddy cultivation and to pay Rupees 15,000/- per hectare for field crops cultivated in paddy lands[maximum of 02 hectares per farmer]
News
Ministerial Committee appointed to submit recommendations on proposed program to mitigate loss of crops to wild animals
The rural agricultural livelihood and food security have been severely impacted due to the damage caused by wild animals such as elephants, wild boars, monkeys, toque macaque, squirrels, and peacocks roaming around human habitats and cultivated lands.
Animal-human conflicts and property destruction have mostly been reported around these areas, and serious social and economic issues have also arisen.
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation has prepared a comprehensive program based on the opinions of all stakeholders, including the public, university community, farmers’ organizations, environmentalists, non-governmental organizations which work for environmental issues, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Development, and other relevant organizations.
Taking into consideration the report submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to appoint a ministerial committee with the participation of other relevant ministers, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation, to submit appropriate recommendations on how the aforementioned program should be implemented by further reviewing the proposals included in the said program and incorporating new proposals.
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Payment of the financial subsidy for fertilizer to farmers cultivating paddy lands for the Yala season 2026.
Ministerial Committee appointed to submit recommendations on proposed program to mitigate loss of crops to wild animals
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