The government has to heed protests by religious leaders and civil society groups against excessive electricity charges imposed on religious places of worship and shrines, head of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) Karu Jayasuriya has said issuing a statement.

“At a time when fuel prices have significantly increased around the world, a tariff revision may be inevitable. However, the increase of tariffs by nearly four folds has left many places of worship in great difficulty. Officials must also inquire into how religious places have been singled out for excessively increased rates while other customers have not faced an unusual increase by four-fold,” he said.

Jayasuriya that it is the responsibility of the government to set necessary guidelines and to take steps to introduce alternative measures to provide relief to places of worship that spiritually nourish the society and perform a great social service.

“Experts in the field have already pointed out that it is possible to provide electricity in every religious place of worship through solar panels without burdening the government and the people. While we as an organisation studied this proposal, electrical engineers consulted were of the opinion that many temples, temples, churches, etc. in this country can be supplied with electricity by means of solar panels. We further suggested to the government that instead of using public funds, this scheme can be launched under international grants and other existing environmental aid schemes,” he said.

The NMSJ head said they have already submitted information about it to the President, the Minister of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs and the Ceylon Electricity Board.

“We have been informed that the Minister of Buddhasasana has taken some important steps and that the President has understood the need for this. Accordingly, we strongly expect that these plans will be implemented immediately,” he said.