1465/’16
Hon. Wimalaweera Dissanayaka,—To ask the Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development,—
(a) Will he inform this House —
(i) whether a...
(i) whether a monthly travelling allowance and a special allowance of 1/3 of the basic salary are paid to the police officers who are deployed to provide security to retired presidents of this country;
(ii) if so, as to why payment of the aforesaid allowances to the police officers who have been deployed to provide security to Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksha, who is a retired president, has been stopped since May 2016; and
(iii) whether action will be taken to pay the aforesaid allowances to those police officers who do not receive the same entitlement for providing the same service?
(b) If not, why?
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,—To ask the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development,—
(i) whether it is admitted that it was mentioned in proposal number 153 of Budget 2016 that action would be t...
(i) whether it is admitted that it was mentioned in proposal number 153 of Budget 2016 that action would be taken by the government to fix transponders to fishing vessels with a view to abide by the international regulations;
(ii) separately of the total value of transponders thus provided by the government and the value of transponders provided per vessel; and
(iii) whether a register of names of the owners of fishing vessels to whom transponders have been provided by the government within the year 2016 as per the above budget proposals, will be submitted?
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,—To ask the Minister of Plantation Industries,—
(a) Will he inform this House—
(i) whether the disbursement of the a...
(i) whether the disbursement of the allocation of Rs.250 million which was allocated for the coconut production programme including coconut promotion activities as per proposal number 160 of Budget 2016 will be submitted;
(ii) whether it was permitted to import coconut to Sri Lanka as a part of the above proposal;
(iii) if so, of the quantity of coconut imported and the names of importers; and
(iv) whether the coconut production of Sri Lanka and the coconut production related exports and their value from the year 1977 to 2016 will be submitted in the form of a table?
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,— To ask the Minister of Primary Industries,—
(i) whether an expenditure report on the manner in which Rs.50 million alloca...
(i) whether an expenditure report on the manner in which Rs.50 million allocated for the expansion of the Cinnamon Training Academies as per proposal number 168 of the 2016 budget proposals, was spent will be submitted;
(ii) if not, why;
(iii) of the number of Cinnamon Training Academies located in Sri Lanka;
(iv) of the places where the aforesaid schools are located; and
(v) of the number and the names of persons who received training at Cinnamon Training Academies in year 2016?
1400/’16
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,—To ask the Minister of Rural Economic Affairs,—
(i) whether he would table a detailed ...
(i) whether he would table a detailed list of expenses that contains information about the way the provision of Rs.200 million that had been allocated for the construction of a new economic zone in Vavuniya as per proposal No.172 of the budget proposals for the year 2016, was spent during the year 2016;
(ii) out of the aforesaid amount that had been allocated to your Ministry of the amount of money that had been released to that Ministry before 31.03.2016;
(iii) whether a feasibility report of the project to build the aforesaid economic zone had been prepared either at the time the sum of Rs.200 million was allocated to that project or after the allocation had been made;
(iv) if so, whether such feasibility report would be tabled;
(v) if not, why; and
(vi) whether the action was taken to obtain the fullest support of the relevant provincial council for the implementation of this important project in the year 2016?
1392/’16
Hon. Vasudeva Nanayakkara,—To ask the Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development,—
(a) Is he aware that—
(...
(i) more than 5200 Sri Lankan citizens have been taken into custody by the Marine Division of the Criminal Investigation Department during the period from the year 2012 up to now; and
(ii) a majority of the aforesaid group of persons have been granted bail on strict bail conditions and they have deposited bail amounts of Rs. 50,000/-, from Rs. 20 lakhs up to Rs. 40 lakhs and the other persons are held in custody as they have not been able to obtain bail?
(b) Will he admit that —
(i) the suspects are not able to transfer properties to their children, obtain loans from banks and write last wills due to the imposition of strict bail conditions; and
(ii) since the persons who have been released on bail live in different parts of the country and they have undergone immense difficulties as they have to appear at the Criminal Investigation Department every month and sign in books?
(c) Will he inform this House whether steps will be taken to produce them before the court if there are charges against them or else release them?
(d) If not, why?
1393/’16
Hon. Vasudeva Nanayakkara,— To ask the Minister of Agriculture,—
(i) the farmers belonging to Kal...
(i) the farmers belonging to Kalutara and Walallawita Divisional Secretariat Divisions have been asked by the relevant officer to produce a photo-copy of the National Identity Card along with the application for fertilizer when they came to obtain the fertilizer subsidy; and
(ii) they have been informed that a circular to this effect has been sent, when it was explained that the majority of the farmers do not possess National Identity Cards ?
(b) Will he inform this House whether steps will be taken to instruct the Officers to accept the Elders’ Identity Cards, Passports and Driving Licenses owned by the farmers of the area in place of National Identity Cards?
(c) If not, why?
1373/’16
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,— To ask the Minister of Industry and Commerce,—
(i) whether rack ...
(i) whether rack space in the private sector super markets were given at a reasonable rate as per proposal No. 126 of the Budget 2016 in order to promote sales of small and medium scale entrepreneurs;
(ii) whether a request was made by a Ministry to make such rack space available from the super markets of the private sector;
(iii) if such a request or order was made, will he present a copy of it; and
(iv) whether he will present a list of number of super markets of the private sector in Sri Lanka which are liable to pay taxes and the cities/villages in which they are situated?
1377/’16
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,—To ask the Minister of Agriculture,—
(a) Will he inform this House whether—
(i) he acknowledges ...
(i) he acknowledges that it was proposed to disseminate the knowledge of Agricultural Extension Officers to the private sector farms at a fee as per proposal 131 of the 2016 budget;
(ii) he will submit a list of names of public officers whose services were thus disseminated at a fee to the private sector; and
(iii) he will submit a list of companies which obtained the knowledge of Agricultural Extension Officers?
1382/’16
Hon. Bandula Gunawardana,— To ask the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development,—
...
(i) whether he admits that a sum of Rs.750 million was allocated to develop 6 fisheries harbours, i.e. the fisheries harbours of Chilaw, Mirissa, Kalmunai, Valvetithurai, Karainagar and Puranawella from the budget as per proposal number 148 of the 2016 budget;
(ii) whether tenders were called for the projects to develop each of the aforementioned harbours;
(iii) if so, separately the names of institutions which offered bids and the names of which were awarded the tenders;
(iv) of the amount of money released to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development by the General Treasury by 31.12.2016 for the development of the aforesaid 6 harbours; and
(v) of the extent of financial provisions that can be granted in the year 2017 for the development of the aforesaid harbours?
1363/’16
Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna,—To ask the Minister of Lands,—
(i) separately, of ...
(i) separately, of the extent of land transferred through Gazette notifications to Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and Janatha Estate Development Board for administration and management, out of the cultivated lands owned by the Land Reform Commission in Matale district as per the provisions of the Land Reforms Act;
(ii) of the names and extent of those lands in terms of Divisional Secretariat Divisions;
(iii) whether those lands have been surveyed and their boundaries have been identified;
(iv) of the contribution made to the national economy by the said institutions through the administration and management of the said estates; and
(v) of the extent of land under the direct administration of these institutions out of the said lands, separately in terms of Divisional Secretariat Divisions?
(b) Will he also inform this House—
(i) of the extent of land administered by the regional plantation companies, separately in terms of Divisional Secretariat Divisions;
(ii) whether those lands have been provided to the relevant companies on lease agreements;
(iii) whether those institutions have any legal right to do so; and
(iv) of the contribution made to the national economy by the relevant plantation companies through the management of the said estates?
Hon. Lucky Jayawardana,— To ask the Minister of Education,—
(i) of the number of schools that hav...
(i) of the number of schools that have been selected from the Udunuwara Electorate for the programme entitled ‘The Nearest School - the Best School’;
(ii) of the names of the schools that have been selected as per (i) above;
(iii) out of the aforesaid schools, of the names of the schools for which new buildings have been proposed to be constructed at present; and
(iv) of the nature of the buildings that have been proposed to be constructed in those schools?
(i) whether he is aware that, out of the schools that have been selected under ‘The Nearest School - the Best School’ programme, new buildings have not been proposed to be constructed at the schools in which the space available for pupils is at a minimum level;
(ii) of the reason as to why action has not been taken under the aforesaid programme to construct buildings in schools where adequate buildings facilities have become an essential requirement;
(iii) whether steps will be taken speedily to provide buildings to such schools, too; and
(iv) if so, of the date on which such steps will be taken?
1348/’16
Hon. Lucky Jayawardana,—To ask the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy,—
(i) the number of small power stations that supply electricity to the Ceylon Electricity Board;
(ii) out of the aforesaid power stations, the number of power stations owned by the Board and the private sector separately;
(iii) the locations of the power stations mentioned in above (i);
(iv) the total capacity generated by the power stations owned by the Board; and
(v) the capacity of each of those power stations separately?
(i) the total capacity obtained by the Board from private power stations;
(ii) the capacity of power obtained from each of those stations separately;
(iii) the total amount of money paid for the electricity mentioned in above (i);
(iv) that amount in respect of each institution separately;
(v) the amount of money that has been paid for the supply of electricity by private power stations from the beginning up to now separately;
(vi) whether there are small power stations proposed to be built with the approval of the Board;
(vii) if so, what they are; and
(viii) the places in which those power stations are proposed to be built and the names of the owners?
1351 /’16
Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma,—To ask the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation,—
(a) Will he inform this House separately of the total...
(a) Will he inform this House separately of the total extent of lands belonging to the Department of Railways in each town?
(b) Will he also inform this House separately in terms of—
(i) the area;
(ii) the relevant geographical domain;
(iii) the relevant basis of granting; and
(iv) The date from which the Department of Railways has given up use of;
the extents of lands, out of the total extent of lands referred to in (i) above, that are presently not in use by the Department of Railways due to being given on rent or lease basis?
(c) Will he further inform this House—
(i) Whether any decision has been taken by now to lease, sell or to alienate ;
(ii) if so, of the names of such lands;
(iii) of the basis of alienation of such lands;
(iv) of the monthly lease that is charged per perch of the lands that have been leased at present;
(v) of the number of lands for which the payment of lease has been defaulted; and
(vi) of the nature of legal action that will be taken against defaulters of land lease?
Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna,—To ask the Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training,—
(a) Will he admit that—
(i) school child...
(i) school children in Sri Lanka generally have poor motivation for attending vocational training;
(ii) the skills the youth in Sri Lanka possess show a mismatch in fulfilling the current labour market demand in Sri Lanka; and
(iii) there exists a strong need for training children in a range of skills and generating new avenues for employment?
(b) Will he inform this House—
(i) whether the Ministry has taken steps in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to bring about a change in the school curriculum in order to develop vocational skills of school children from primary level to tertiary level; and
(ii) of so, what those steps are?
1345/’16
Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage,— To ask the Minister of Public Enterprise Development,—
(i) 3 aircraft of type A350 ha...
(i) 3 aircraft of type A350 have been ordered for Sri Lankan Air Lines Company by the previous government on hire-purchase system;
(ii) the aforesaid order has been cancelled by the new government after assuming power;
(iii) the AerCap Company which had accepted the order asked for a compensation of 97 million US dollars for the cancellation of the contract;
(iv) a decision has been taken by the cabinet sub committee on 07.09.2016 to discuss regarding the payment of compensation, misleading the cabinet in spite of the possibility to sell the aircraft to another airlines company if they are not purchased by the government; and
(v) action has been taken by the Prime Minister’s office, going by an e-mail sent by Mr. Charitha Rathwatte, to pay the aforesaid amount of money without getting the cabinet approval and without conducting any discussion pertaining to selling the aforesaid aircraft to some other airline company or pertaining to getting a reduction in the amount of compensation claimed by the AerCap company?
(b) Will he inform this House of the steps that will be taken with relevance to the loss and economic damage caused to the Sri Lankan Government by this transaction?
1346/’16
Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage,— To ask the Minister of Justice,—
(a) Is he aware that —
(i) the report of the COPE has revealed that there had b...
(i) the report of the COPE has revealed that there had been some irregularity with regard to purchase of treasury bonds of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka by the company named Perpetual Treasuries;
(ii) the Criminal Investigation Department carried out an investigation into the aforesaid incident in the year 2015;
(iii) the report of the aforesaid investigation was referred to the Attorney-General in or around the month of June, 2015 by an officer named Nagahamulla attached to the Criminal Investigation Department seeking advice of the Attorney-General;
(iv) the aforesaid WPI file was submitted to a senior, female officer attached to the Criminal Division of the Attorney-General’s Department; and
(v) that, after a few days, the aforesaid file was called for by the Attorney-General who then took action to stop the ongoing examination and assign it to a senior officer in the Civil Division.
(i) of the name of the female officer to whom the aforesaid file had been submitted;
(ii) of the reason as to why the file was taken away from her;
(iii) of the current progress of the process with regard to that file; and
(iv) whether action will be taken under the Criminal Law with regard to the aforesaid investigation that had been carried out by the Criminal Investigations Department?
1341/’16
Hon. Heshan Withanage,—To ask the Minister of Higher Education and Highways,—
(i) the E...
(i) the Embilipitiya – Moraketiya main road in Rathnapura district is a road used by a large number of people daily;
(ii) a section of that road has not been brought under any rehabilitation up to now; and
(iii) a large number of people who use this road daily are frequently affected as a result?
(i) whether funds have been allocated to develop this road;
(ii) if so, the amount allocated; and
(iii) of the date on which its work is due to be commenced?
1342/’16
Hon. Heshan Withanage,—To ask the Minister of Industry and Commerce,—
(i) the Embilipitiya National Paper Facto...
(i) the Embilipitiya National Paper Factory has been closed down by now;
(ii) resources and assets of that institution have been stolen by various individuals during the tenure of the former government;
(iii) the said institution has been totally destroyed as a result; and
(iv) a large number of people who were employed there or earned an indirect income through that are economically and mentally affected as a result?
(i) whether a proper investigation had been conducted regarding the destruction of that institution;
(ii) if so, of the information disclosed through that; and
(iii) whether legal action had been taken against the suspects identified on that information?
1343/’16
Hon. Heshan Withanage,—To ask the Minister of Women and Child Affairs,—
(a) Is she aware that—
(i) a large number of women and children of ...
(i) a large number of women and children of Sri Lanka appear in courts as a result of child abuse and sexual harassment;
(ii) they are repeatedly subjected to such abuse and harassment indirectly in the open court and through mass media; and
(iii) they suffer in reintegration into society facing a host of issues and various psychological weaknesses owing to this?
(b) Will she inform this House—
(i) whether setting up a special court to protect the rights of children and women in Sri Lanka is proposed due to the aforesaid situation; and
(ii) whether there is a plan to impose restrictions on media with respect to reporting in such a situation for the future well being of children and women; and
(iii) if so, the time frame required for that?
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