News
Million trees to reduce pollution on highways
One million moodilla saplings would be planted on either side of roads to minimize carbon footprint and to manage emissions, Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said last Friday.
Speaking to journalists after launching the sapling planting project along the Marine Drive from Wellawatte to the Dehiwela section under the one million trees green project of the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour programme, the Minister said that the tree planting project in addition to helping minimise the carbon footprint, would provide shade and shelter to pedestrians. “Out target is to plant one million saplings along the roadside. Around 300,000 saplings are already ready in nurseries belonging to the Road Development Authority. Our development projects have been designed to ensure the protection of the environment so that they would be in line with the visions of sustainable development goals. The Opposition has been clamouring during recent times accusing our government of engaging in a countrywide tree felling spree. We are not worried about their false propaganda. We continue with our development process so that within a couple more months people will see the results. Within 24 hours of the President assuming duties of office after his winning of the election, he commenced a project of cleaning the environs and he set up an environmental police unit. Within a couple of days of the victory at the presidential election, all waste and garbage that had not been cleared were cleaned up. People may recall how the Yahapalana regime could not even clean the garbage and waste during the last half of their government. Now it is they who come and give us instructions on how to run the economy,” the Minister said.
Minister Fernando said that the project to plant one million saplings along the roads was being carried out with the assistance of private sector institutions. The sapling planting project along Marine Drive is assisted by the NDB Bank.
Responding to a query by journalists on the speculations related to Basil Rajapaksa being sworn in as an MP soon, the Minister said: “The story of Basil Rajapaksa becoming an MP started from the day the last general election was won by the SLPP. Yet he did not come to Parliament. That is why this question is being raised repeatedly. Everybody is waiting to see if he becomes an MP.”
Asked to comment on the presidential pardon given to Duminda Silva, the Minister said: “It is my personal opinion that justice has been done. We all know that not only Duminda Silva but many other persons had been incarcerated during the Yahapalana misrule just because they were from our party. We all have heard the leaked audio tapes on how Shani Abeyesekera and others had manufactured evidence and manipulated the court process to put Duminda Silva behind bars. In addition, there was a Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimization where evidence came out on how selective justice had been dispensed against our party members and supporters. Justice had been suppressed by the political powers during the time of the former government. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has rectified an injustice. There are many more still languishing behind bars. Public sector officials, members of the Maha Sangha, members of tri-forces and police intelligence units, artistes, etc., had been victimized politically during the times of the last government. We hope that justice would be done to them too. It is because of that conduct of the Yahapalana government that the people of this country voted us in and gave us two-thirds of the power. The President did the right thing and we stand by with him.”
Responding to a question on fuel price hikes, the Minister said: There are various statements by various parties. Let’s see what will happen in the coming days. Anyone is free to express his or her opinions. Even parties within our government are making different statements. But you have to remember that we are moving to a specific target. The government has not yet made a statement saying that the fuel prices will go down. A government cannot make such statements in advance because it would result in unfavourable consequences in the market. The businessmen may hoard supplies or fleece the consumers.”
Among those present were Secretary to the Ministry of Highways Ranjith Pemasiri, Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure Ranjith Dissanayake, Director and Group Executive Officer of the NDB, Dimantha Senaratne, Director Assets Management and Revenue Rasangani Paranagama and other officials.
“Power failures on election day could occur due to natural causes or sabotage”
Funds allocated for hiring power generators for the counting centres were inadequate, and the Grama Niladaris (GNs) would not be able to ensure a back-up power supply to those places, President of the Sri Lanka United Grama Niladhari Association, Nandana Ranasinghe warned yesterday.
Addressing a press conference, Ranasinghe said: “Under these circumstances, it will not be possible to provide the counting centres with generators. Funds must also be allocated for hiring electric bulbs, cables and transporting generators as well.
“Unless funds are made available immediately, the GNs must not be held responsible if something goes wrong in the event of a power failure, either due to natural causes or sabotage. The GNs must not be asked to bear the cost of supplying back-up power to counting centres.
“In some areas, the District Returning Officers are pressuring the GNs to bear the cost of hiring power generators. The GNs must not be forced to spend their personal funds to provide facilities to counting centres.
“If a power outage occurs, it will definitely cause issues at counting centres. In the event of disruptions to the vote counting process, the results in the polling divisions under the centres may have to be annulled.”
More than 65,000 police officers would be deployed for the 06 May local government (LG) elections from today (05), Police Media Spokesman SSP Buddhika Manatunga told The Island, yesterday. The police personnel will include members of the Police Special Task Force, intelligence units, security divisions, and mobile patrol teams.
Army Media Spokesman Brigadier Varuna Gamage told The Island that 8,500 military personnel would be deployed on the roads across the country in view of the LG elections.
He said the Army would coordinate with the police, and that troops in all military camps had been placed on standby to face any situation.
By Norman Palihawadane and Chaminda Silva
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has alleged that the NPP government, too, like its predecessor, was creating a situation where medicines can be purchased at higher prices outside tender procedures.
The Education Secretary of the FSP Pubudu Jayagoda yesterday (04) alleged that the NPP Cabinet was planning to endorse the Health Ministry move. Addressing the media at the party office in Nugegoda, Jayagoda alleged that the NPP had adopted a strategy similar to that of Keheliya Rambukwella to procure medicines.
The FSP said: “The status quo ante has been restored in respect of health sector procurements. Time was when tenders were deliberately delayed. Orders weren’t placed on time, creating artificial shortages. Then, emergency purchases were made at higher prices; often substandard drugs were purchased. This government came to power promising reforms, but now the question is whether it is doing what it blamed its predecessor for.
“We have received information about a cabinet paper that Health Minister Nalin Jayathissa is going to present to the Cabinet tomorrow. According to an audit report dated March 29, 2025, Sri Lanka faces a shortage of 313 essential medicines over the next three months and 202 of these drugs can be procured through regular means.
“For the remaining 101 medicines, the Health Minister proposes in Sections 2.3 and 2.4 of the Cabinet paper standard procurement procedures should be bypassed and procurement should be done as government-to-government (G2G) deals in violation of the fundamental procurement regulations of transparent competitive bidding processes and the selection of the lowest bidder. Further, the Minister proposes to appoint a seven-member committee to formulate the new procurement methodology and to delegate the selection of supplier countries for medicine procurement to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“According to Section 8.1 of the Procurement Guidelines, direct procurement without calling for tenders is permitted only under four specific circumstances. That is when the medicine is produced by only one manufacturer, during emergency situations such as pandemics; when there is a severe shortage of the medicine and when the medicine is produced by the State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation. The justification being used now is the ‘medicine shortage’ clause.
“But how did this shortage occur in the first place? Under the Ranil Wickremesinghe government in August 2024, then-Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana attempted to replace existing medicine suppliers with a group of cronies. When that move drew heavy criticism, the Ministry got cold feet.
“Under pressure from the Indian High Commission, the government tried to procure medicines directly from India without calling for tenders. The current NPP government is now following in the footsteps of the previous Ranil-Ramesh administration. While working on procurement methodologies for 2026, they did not take action to place orders for essential medicines for 2025 even by November-December 2024.”
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