Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, M.P.

Jathika Jana balawegaya (JJB)· Nuwara - Eliya

Profession: Teacher

Roster profile ↗

Speeches 29 #138 of 225·#78 in party

Attendance 7/8 days present (of recorded)

Speech history

29 speeches

21 May 2026 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi supported the Adjournment Motion on hill country issues and said the Government is implementing the Hatton Declaration to address long-neglected rights, housing, roads, land, education, and livelihood needs of estate communities. He cited planned measures including gazetting about 800 ungazetted estate roads in Nuwara Eliya, allocating Rs. 3,250 million for the Lindula-Dayagama road, rehabilitating disaster-damaged RDA roads, regularizing land for 968 Central Province schools, and providing Rs. 998 million for the Praja Shakthi programme in Nuwara Eliya. He urged MPs to avoid ethnic or local politicization of grievances, participate in District Coordinating Committees, and work collectively across party lines to deliver development and national unity. Adjournment Debate: Integration of Malaiyaha People into National Mainstream Land & HousingEthnic Reconciliation & DevolutionInfrastructure Read →
6 May 2026 AI summary Asked the Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure to provide detailed allocations from the 2025 Budget for development and improvement of the tea industry, including province-wise and selected district-wise breakdowns. Sought the percentage distribution for new cultivation and re-cultivation, factory modernization, research, marketing, relief for small and medium cultivators, and other related sectors. Also requested the total allocation for the tea industry in the 2026 Budget, or reasons if that information cannot be provided. Oral Questions: Second Round (Q.1/885/2025 deferred; Q.5/1763/2025 absent; Tea Industry Budget Provisions) Public FinanceAgriculture Read →
20 February 2026 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi rejected Opposition allegations of a coal procurement scam, stating that coal imports for Lakvijaya/Norochcholai are being carried out through approved tender procedures under the National Procurement Commission and asking the Opposition to table any claimed account numbers or evidence. He argued that past procurement irregularities were linked to previous political actors, while the current Government is pursuing an anti-corruption mandate and improving public institutions. He also outlined the Government’s energy direction, saying diesel and coal are unsustainable and that renewables, currently including hydropower and solar/wind contributions, are to be increased toward a 70 per cent target by 2030. Adjournment Motion: Issues Relating to the Power Sector (Coal Procurement for Norochcholai) EnvironmentPublic FinanceCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
5 February 2026 AI summary A petition was presented on behalf of Mr. A.K. Mahendran of No. 64, Ariyagama, Hatton. Petitions: Citizens' Petitions Presented Parliamentary Procedure Read →
22 January 2026 AI summary Asked whether the Ministry would take focused, time-bound action regarding livestock farms in Nuwara Eliya District that are allegedly operating in environmentally harmful ways. Oral Question: Lonach Dairy Farm - Environmental Compliance and Waste Disposal EnvironmentAgriculture Read →
22 January 2026 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi challenged the adequacy of the response given regarding Lonach Farm, alleging ongoing environmental pollution and public hardship since 2017 despite a prohibition order, fines, and repeated complaints. He stated that large volumes of animal waste mixed with liquid were being discharged into streams feeding the Kelani River and asked how relevant authorities granted approvals despite these impacts. He called for urgent action by the authorities, including the Central Environmental Authority and the Ministry. Oral Question: Lonach Dairy Farm - Environmental Compliance and Waste Disposal Corruption & Governance ReformLaw & OrderEnvironment Read →
22 January 2026 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi asked the Minister of Environment whether the Lonach Dairy Farm had met environmental legal requirements at commencement and whether it has obtained annual environmental licences from 2020 onward. He also requested details on daily animal waste disposal, compliance with environmental recommendations, any violations by management, and actions taken, or reasons if such information cannot be provided. Oral Question: Lonach Dairy Farm - Environmental Compliance and Waste Disposal Environment Read →
8 January 2026 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi supported regulations aimed at improving road safety, citing 13,714 deaths from fatal accidents between 2020 and June 2025 and attributing many crashes to driver negligence and substance use. He said road accidents impose major economic costs, including health, infrastructure and GDP losses, and called for legal reforms, enforcement and responsible driving. He also responded to criticism over “Ditva” disaster relief in Nuwara Eliya, detailing completed and ongoing payments for affected residents, schoolchildren, cultivations, industries, roads, transport services, schools and housing reconstruction. Motor Traffic Act Regulations Debate Law & OrderInfrastructurePublic Finance Read →
24 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi addressed Budget expenditure heads related to transport and urban development, focusing on Nuwara Eliya District’s unmet needs in plantation-linked rural villages and underdeveloped towns. He highlighted inadequate sewerage, toilets, roads, housing and public transport, noting that 24 routes are too degraded for regular bus operations and 20 routes lack buses due to shortages, and said he was tabling a list of affected routes. He cited Rs. 500 million allocated for Hatton town, planned development of several other towns through 2026–2028, and around Rs. 3,000 million in 2025 for carpeting 44 roads, with further Provincial Council and PRDA road works. He urged systematic, ministry-linked development of rural roads and towns and invited the Opposition to support the programme. Appropriation Bill 2026 Committee Stage: Transport, Highways, Ports, Civil Aviation, Urban Development, Construction and Housing InfrastructureLand & HousingAgriculture Read →
21 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, on behalf of Prof. L.M. Abeywickrama, requested year-by-year data from 2020 to 2025 on bulls used for semen collection, bovine semen produced and imported, calves born through artificial insemination, and bulls imported, relating to the Central Artificial Insemination Centre in Kundasale. The question also sought an explanation of the advantages of importing bovine semen for breeding rather than importing bulls for semen collection. Oral Questions: Second Round – Unemployed Graduates and Bovine Semen Agriculture Read →
12 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi highlighted urgent price difficulties faced by potato, onion and upcountry vegetable farmers in Nuwara Eliya, stating that the Agriculture, Industries and Trade Ministers were coordinating measures to stabilize prices from the next season. Supporting the 80th Budget, he said it advances economic democracy and allocates funds for plantation worker wage increases, including a Rs. 200 daily attendance incentive from the Treasury, as well as estate housing. He also cited allocations for rural roads, drinking water expansion in Nuwara Eliya, and the modernization of Hatton, while criticizing Opposition members who oppose the Budget and its support for estate workers. Appropriation Bill, 2026 - Second Reading Debate AgricultureInfrastructureEmployment Read →
11 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi asked how the Government would address the impact of the Broadlands hydropower project on water rafting along the Kelani River, a key tourism activity. He said river closures from late afternoon to the following morning delay rafting operations and inconvenience foreign visitors, and requested a solution that balances hydropower generation with tourism needs. Oral Question: Affected Persons Due to Construction of Broadlands Hydropower Plant (Q.1404/2025) InfrastructureEnvironmentCost of Living Read →
11 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi asked the Minister about duty-relieved goods, machinery, equipment, and vehicles imported for the Broadlands project, noting that they had allegedly not been formally handed over to the Ceylon Electricity Board after completion of the power plant. He alleged misuse of public resources, including unused cab vehicles parked in various locations, and requested an inquiry and immediate procedure to return the assets to the Government. Oral Question: Affected Persons Due to Construction of Broadlands Hydropower Plant (Q.1404/2025) Public FinanceCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
11 November 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi asked the Minister of Energy for details on the Broadlands Hydropower Plant, including when construction began, whether it has been completed, and, if not, the reasons for any delay. He also requested a detailed account of compensation related to the project: the number of affected persons, payments already made with individual amounts, outstanding beneficiaries and sums due, and the expected date for completing all compensation payments. Oral Question: Affected Persons Due to Construction of Broadlands Hydropower Plant (Q.1404/2025) InfrastructurePublic Finance Read →
23 October 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi raised a second supplementary question alleging large-scale land grabs in the absence of proper land allocation for settlement. He asked the Deputy Minister when investigations into these alleged land grabs would begin. Oral Question: Alternative Lands Distributed out of LRC Lands (Q.6/2025) Land & HousingCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
23 October 2025 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi questioned the completeness of a land-related report concerning Nuwara Eliya District, where he said many residents lack even small residential plots. He alleged that several former MPs and public officials had obtained or occupied sizeable extents of land in areas including Ambagamuwa, Kotmale, Talawakelle, Magastota, Bowaeliya, and near Lovers’ Leap, and asked why these names were not reflected in the list presented by the Deputy Minister. Oral Question: Alternative Lands Distributed out of LRC Lands (Q.6/2025) Land & HousingCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
23 October 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi asked the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation for details on Land Reform Commission-owned land in the Nuwara Eliya District and the extent of alternative lands already distributed from it. He requested a breakdown of recipients, land extents, grounds for allocation, and periods of grant, and specifically asked whether any politicians were among the recipients and, if so, to identify them. Oral Question: Alternative Lands Distributed out of LRC Lands (Q.6/2025) Land & Housing Read →
8 October 2025 AI summary Hon. Manjula Suraweera Arachchi supported the Supplementary Estimate for the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, stating that part of the remaining allocation would be used to settle Road Development Authority debt. He outlined ongoing transport and road development projects, including upgrades to Pettah transport facilities, A and B class roads, bridges, rural roads, Sri Pada access roads, and key routes in Nuwara Eliya District. He also noted allocations for safety barriers at identified danger points in the Central Highlands following road safety concerns. The speech contrasted these initiatives with criticism of the Opposition’s past record and asserted the Government’s commitment to infrastructure development and accountability. Debate: Supplementary Sum - Head 117 - Programme 02 (Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation) Public FinanceInfrastructureCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
26 September 2025 AI summary A petition from Mr. D.G. Jayasena of Kolhena, Morahenagama, Hatton was presented to Parliament. Citizens' Petitions Parliamentary Procedure Read →
23 September 2025 AI summary Manjula Suraweera Arachchi supported giving the National Building Research Organisation statutory status, noting its long operation through Cabinet decisions and its role in landslide, disaster-risk, geotechnical, environmental and structural services. He highlighted landslide risks across 14 districts, including 1,252 reported landslides in 2024 and pending casework in Nuwara Eliya, and called attention to staff, funding and equipment constraints. He also placed the Bill within the Government’s broader 2025 legislative programme, citing several recent amendments and laws, and said the Government would continue its policy agenda on stability, public services, and law and order. Second Reading Debate: National Building Research Institute Bill Public FinanceInfrastructureLaw & Order Read →