House Committee, BASL and TISL take common stand

The Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has found fault with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for what it calls the inordinate delay in appointing a new Auditor General. CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva, in a letter dated Dec. 22 addressed to President Dissanayake, has pointed out that the Office of the AG remains vacant.

The SJBer raised the serious issue with the President close on the heels of the interventions made by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL).

Dr. de Silva has emphasised that the failure on the part of the President to fill the vacancy is a matter of serious concern. The Constitutional Council has repeatedly rejected the President’s nominee while questioning his suitability.

The following is the text of CoPF Chairman’s letter to the President: ” I wish to respectfully bring to your attention that the Office of the Auditor General has remained vacant since 7 December, following the conclusion of the tenure of the Acting Auditor General on 6 December. At present, there is neither a substantive nor an acting Auditor General in the country, and consequently, the Audit Service Commission remains without a chairman. Given the prevailing circumstances of the country, the continuous absence of this constitutionally mandated post is a matter of serious concern.

Under Article 148 of the Constitution, Parliament exercises full control over public finance. The effective exercise of this control is constitutionally dependent on the continuous functioning of an independent audit mechanism.

Article 154 of the Constitution establishes the office of the Auditor General and mandates the audit of all State institutions and the reporting of such audits to Parliament. The absence of an Auditor General disrupts this mandatory constitutional process. This mandate is further reinforced by Section 3 of tile National Audit Act, No. 19 of 2018.

Moreover, the oversight functions of the Committee on Public Accounts, and the Committee on Public Enterprises in terms of Standing Orders 119, and 120 are directly dependent on audit reports issued by the Auditor General. The continued vacancy therefore materially undermines parliamentary financial oversight.

As the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) is responsible for reviewing the budget and work programme of the National Audit Office, I consider it my duty, as the Chair of the CoPF, to urge the immediate appointment of the Auditor General.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that urgent action be taken to appoint a suitable, qualified and experienced individual as the Auditor General in accordance with Article 153(1) of the Constitutional, without further delay.”

As part of India’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’, the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Assistant High Commission in Kandy and Consulate General of India in Jaffna conducted humanitarian assistance distribution drives for families affected by Cyclone Ditwah in different parts of the country, the Indian HC said.

The text of the HC statement: “On 18 December, High Commissioner of India Santosh Jha distributed relief kits among affected families in the Kolonnawa in coordination with All Ceylon Sufi Spiritual Association and among children of Bhaktivedanta Children’s Home ‘Gokulam’ at ISKCON Temple in Colombo. Earlier this month, the High Commissioner also distributed assistance among residents of Nayanalokagama, village specially designated for the visually impaired, and among affected families in Negombo in the Gampaha District.

Between 9 and 19 December, Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy distributed essential food items and supplies among hundreds of affected families in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla Districts.

Similarly, the Consulate General of India in Jaffna carried out several distribution drives for affected families in Mannar, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, as well as island territories of the Jaffna District.

This assistance is over and above several tonnes of food and relief material handed over by India to the Government of Sri Lanka under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’.”

Sri Pada revered as one of Sri Lanka’s most sacred pilgrimage sites, is also among the country’s most environmentally sensitive ecosystems.

During each pilgrimage season, hundreds of thousands of devotees ascend the mountain, placing immense pressure on its fragile forests, water sources and wildlife.

Against this backdrop, the government has introduced a series of decisive new measures aimed at significantly reducing biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste generated during the Sri Pada pilgrimage season.

The proposals, presented by the Ministry of Environment, have now received Cabinet approval, marking a major policy intervention to safeguard the ecological integrity of the Sri Pada protected area.

Environment Minister Dr. Dhammika Patabendi told The Island that these steps were long overdue and essential to ensure that religious devotion does not come at the cost of irreversible environmental damage.

“Sri Pada is not only a place of deep spiritual significance, it is also an environmentally hypersensitive zone of national importance,” Dr. Patabendi said. “For years, we have witnessed massive accumulations of plastic waste after the pilgrimage season—polluted streams, degraded forest land and long-term harm to biodiversity. This situation can no longer be ignored.”

Under the new decision, a range of plastic and polythene-based products—already restricted nationally—will be completely banned within the Sri Pada area. These items cannot be sold by vendors nor carried by pilgrims into the zone.

The banned items include polythene food wrappers (lunch sheets), shopping bags and single-use food containers; single-use straws, stirrers, plates, cups, spoons, forks and knives; and single-use plastic water and beverage bottles with a capacity of less than one litre.

“The intention is not to inconvenience devotees,” the Minister stressed. “Pilgrimage is a sacred act. But a sacred journey must also respect nature. You cannot worship with one hand and destroy the environment with the other.”

The new regulations also strictly prohibit the disposal of packaging from food, medicine or any other goods that contain polythene or plastic within the environmentally sensitive zone. These rules apply equally to pilgrims and traders operating along the Sri Pada routes.

Authorities have warned that violations will be met with firm legal action, as enforcement agencies have been instructed to treat environmental offences in the Sri Pada area with zero tolerance during the pilgrimage season.

“This is about discipline and responsibility,” Dr. Patabendi said. “Protecting Sri Pada requires a change in behaviour. Laws alone are not enough unless people understand why they matter.”

In a significant policy shift, responsibility for managing waste generated from products sold along the Sri Pada routes has been placed squarely on shop owners. Vendors will now be held accountable for the collection and proper disposal of plastic-related waste resulting from the items they sell.

“This follows the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility,” the Minister explained. “If you sell a product, you must take responsibility for the waste it creates. Shop owners can no longer turn a blind eye to plastic pollution simply because the customer walks away.”

Environmentalists and conservation experts have welcomed the move, noting that unmanaged waste has been one of the most persistent threats to the Sri Pada ecosystem, which forms part of the central highlands and plays a critical role in water catchment and biodiversity conservation.

Dr. Patabendi emphasised that while the government has a duty to protect Sri Pada through policy and enforcement, the success of these measures ultimately depends on public cooperation.

“This is not just a regulation—it is a collective responsibility,” he said. “If pilgrims, traders and authorities work together, Sri Pada can be preserved for generations to come. Our goal is to ensure that future pilgrims inherit a sacred mountain that is clean, healthy and alive.”

As Sri Lanka seeks to balance religious tradition with environmental sustainability, the new Sri Pada regulations signal a clear message: protecting nature is not separate from faith, but an essential part of it.

By Ifham Nizam