Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya instructed officials to implement development projects by taking into account the practical needs of the people.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at the Colombo District Planning Committee meeting held on Tuesday  (12) at the Colombo District Secretariat to review the progress of development projects in the Colombo District.

During the meeting, discussions focused on a number of development projects scheduled to be implemented in 2026 and 2027, with special attention given to rural road development, alleviation of poverty, and infrastructure development.

Under the Decentralized Budget Programme, more than Rs. 195 million has been allocated for 2026, and Members of Parliament representing the district have submitted their proposals accordingly. To date, 240 project proposals have been received through Divisional Secretaries, and approval has already been granted for 126 projects valued at Rs. 127 million.

An allocation of Rs. 100 million has been made to ensure the safety of the roads in the Colombo District, with priority given to installing safety barriers and traffic signboards in hazardous locations. In addition, officials stated that plans have been prepared targeting 2027 to construct rural bridges with an allocation of Rs. 100 million and to develop 50 kilometres of roads.

A sum of Rs. 1,036 million has been allocated for the “Praja Shakthi” programme aimed at alleviation of poverty, and the Prime Minister instructed officials to complete all related projects by 30 November 2026. Further, discussions were also held regarding the development of school playgrounds with the support of the Ministry of Sports, as well as the implementation of special projects under the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Environment.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih, Colombo District Coordinating Committee Chair and Member of Parliament Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Members of Parliament Samanmalee Gunasinghe and Asitha Niroshana, Colombo District Secretary Ginige Prasanna Janaka Kumara, along with public representatives and government officials representing the Colombo District.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Prof. Prathibha Mahanamahewa has emphasised the need to examine the circumstances under which the court staff executed the bail bond, and the release process, in respect of the late Kapila Chandrasena, former Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines.

Chandrasena’s body was found in a house at Pedris Road, Colombo 03.

In case of any doubt regarding bail condition/s or any other matter (insufficient surety, identity issues, suspicious documents and unclear order), the Registrar had to get in touch with the relevant Magistrate, Mahanamahewa said.

Mahanamahewa was responding to The Island query regarding the acceptance of two Muslims as sureties. Had they followed the time-tested procedure, court registry/registrar staff would never have accepted sureties as blood relatives of Chandrasena, Mahanamahewa said, alleging a major defect in the execution of the bail bond.

They were arrested by police and remanded by the Colombo Magistrate’s court, till 13 May, pending further investigations.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodharagama, on 5 May, granted to Chandrasena cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and three surety bails of Rs. 10 million each. But soon after Chandrasena received bail, the court was told that two of the Rs. 10 million sureties had been produced, after payment of Rs. 15,000 each, were made to those two individuals to act as guarantors.

The bail application had been submitted by Rienzie Arsecularatne, PC, appearing on behalf of Kapila Chandrasena, when the case was earlier taken up, on 28 April.

Police also arrested an elderly person who arranged for the two persons who hadn’t even seen Chandrasena, even once, to offer themselves as sureties.

As soon as the police revealed the fraudulent manner Chandrasena obtained bail, Chief Magistrate Bodharagama issued an order to arrest and produce him before the court. This order was issued consequent to a request made by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), on the grounds that the defendant had violated bail conditions. The CIABOC wanted Chandrasena held pending the conclusion of the case.

Sources familiar with the execution of bail bond said that the moment the suspects had submitted their National Identity Cards and letters from Grama Sevakas, the court registry/registrar staff should have rejected them. In a such high-profile case, the failure on the part of the lawyers, representing Chandrasena, to check the gsureties’ relationship with Chandrasena, was another glaring shortcoming, sources said, pointing out that after having submitted bail application on 28 April, the defence team should have come prepared to put forward genuine guarantors.

The Island contacted the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for comment on the manner in which the court staff had handled bail for Chandrasena, but there was no response.

Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Moscow, accredited to Kiev, Udayanga Weeratunga, said that a thorough investigation should be conducted to ascertain facts about the execution of the bail bond. Asked whether he had been in touch with Chandrasena, Weeratunga said that he spent his first day at Welikada with Chandrasena and Ranjan Ramanayake in one cell. “That happened on 14 February, 2020. I was arrested when I returned to the country, from the UAE, and produced before the then Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake, the incumbent Director General of CIABOC,” Weeratunga said.

Weeratunga said that a couple of months after the change of government in 2024, the US State Department imposed a travel ban on him and Chandrasena and their families over what the US termed as significant corruption.

Weeratunga said that altogether the US designated 14 persons and, of them, two were Sri Lankan, who happened to be him and Chandrasena, accused of corruption in respect of acquisition of MiG 27s from Ukraine and the Airbus deal, during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the President.

SLPP sources said that Chandrasena’s demise shouldn’t prevent proper investigation on his affidavit that claimed pressure brought on him to name Mahinda Rajapaksa as a recipient of the Airbus bribe.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised yesterday (12) that the law would be enforced equally and no one was allowed to be above the law.

Addressing the Matale District Coordinating Committee meeting, at the Matale District Secretariat, President Dissanayake said, “Do not be afraid to work, but be afraid to engage in irregularities. Everyone must first be subject to the law and secondly, must fear the law. This applies to everyone, from the President down to the Grama Niladhari.”

“If we are to usher in a new era, we must submit to the rule of law. No one can be above it, he said, adding that previous Presidents had even violated the Constitution with impunity.

The President said that if there were any instances of selective law enforcement, they should be brought to his attention for action. Everyone was required to cooperate, if called upon to make statements in an investigation, he said.

By S.K. Samaranayake