Sitting of Saturday, 15 March 2025

Order of business

Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.

1. 1 Opening Parliament Opening and Speaker's Announcements - Resignation of Hon. Mohamed Sali Naleem 1 speeches ▸
2. 2 Papers Papers: Annual Reports Tabled 2 speeches ▸
3. 3 Petitions Petitions 3 speeches ▸
4. 4 Oral question Oral Question: Projects Planned on Land of Walahanduwa Estate, Galle (Q.255/2024) 6 speeches ▸
5. 5 Oral question Oral Question: Provisions for Electricity to Isolated Villages and Houses (Q.429/2025) 6 speeches ▸
6. 6 Oral question Oral Question: Road from IDH to Kolonnawa Junction Development (Q.275/2024) 2 speeches ▸
7. 7 Oral question Oral Question: Samurdhi Development Officers and Samurdhi Managers Details (Q.382/2025) 2 speeches ▸
8. 8 Procedural Procedural: Point of Order on Public Petitions and Committee Discussion (Q.429/2025 Answer) 10 speeches ▾
   • The Hon. Kins Nelson SJB

     AI summary Kins Nelson raised a Point of Order during the sitting. No substantive argument, proposal, or question was recorded in the provided excerpt.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • The Hon. Kins Nelson SJB

     AI summary Hon. Kins Nelson raised concern that public petitions submitted by Members, including many in the current Tenth Parliament, are not being inquired into promptly and are being set aside without results. He urged the Speaker to give special attention to ensuring petitions are properly processed, noting that citizens turn to Parliament when village-level issues remain unresolved.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • Mr. Speaker procedural
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   • The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB

     AI summary The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake acknowledged the issue raised by another Member and requested that the Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions be allowed to examine it and report back to the House.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • Mr. Speaker procedural
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   • The Hon. R. M. Gamini Rathnayake JJB

     AI summary Hon. R. M. Gamini Rathnayake stated that 543 public petitions remained unexamined following the dissolution of the Ninth Parliament, while 351 petitions had been submitted to the Tenth Parliament. He highlighted the backlog before the Committee on Public Petitions arising from the parliamentary dissolution.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • Hon. R.M. Gamini Ratnayake JJB

     AI summary Hon. R.M. Gamini Ratnayake stated that petitions submitted to the Ninth Parliament have lapsed and must be re-presented to the current Parliament. He reported that 52 petitions are scheduled and pending, while 34 petitions from the Tenth Parliament have already been examined and concluded, with further Petitions Committee meetings scheduled.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB

     AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake said the Committee on Public Petitions faces delays due to the large volume of petitions and noted that past Parliaments have not been able to complete even half of them within a term. He proposed establishing line-ministry-based subcommittees, such as for Defence-related petitions, to examine matters and refer near-final recommendations to the main Committee for decision. He also requested the Secretariat to provide the necessary officials to support the Committee’s work.

     Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
   • The Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka (on behalf of The Hon. Imran Maharoof) SJB

     AI summary Gayantha Karunathilleka, on behalf of Imran Maharoof, asked the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government about delays in designating Thoppur Sub-Divisional Secretary’s Division and the Kinniya Pradeshiya Sabha area as separate Divisional Secretary’s Divisions. He sought details on the obstacles to implementation, including the status of the Local Government Commission’s approval for Kinniya, and asked whether the Government would address disparities in the population distribution of Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Trincomalee District.

     Public FinanceEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Full speech →
   • The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB

     AI summary The Minister tabled a written answer stating that the Local Government Commission is not functioning. He said the 2012 Delimitation Committee did not recommend a separate Divisional Secretariat for Thoppur because the area had too few families, and that no new delimitation committee has since been appointed, though future steps are expected. He also noted that 40 Grama Niladhari Divisions have over 1,000 families and five have fewer than 100, and that future boundary changes could be considered through a delimitation committee based on demographic and other criteria.

     Corruption & Governance Reform Full speech →
9. 9 Opening Ministerial Statement: Provision of Smart Boards and Equipment for Schools 2 speeches ▸
10. 10 Debate Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025, Twenty-first Allotted Day - Committee Stage, Head 112 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism) 71 speeches ▸
11. 11 Papers Papers: Annual Reports - Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management 4 speeches ▸