Sitting of Friday, 9 May 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1748600585013314 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Opening and Announcements 10 speeches
- 2 Petitions Petitions 4 speeches
- 3 Oral question Oral Question: National-Level Stadiums in Northern and Eastern Provinces (Q.1/2024) 14 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Question: Agriculture (Q.9/2025) - Stand Down 2 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Questions - Second Round (Q.2/2024, Q.3/2025, Q.4/2025, Q.5/2025, Q.6/2025) 7 speeches
- 6 Oral question Standing Order 27(2) Questions and Matters of Urgent Public Importance 32 speeches
- 7 Procedural Ministry Statements and Privilege Matter 5 speeches
- 8 Procedural Procedural Matters: Standing Order Exemptions and Private Members' Bills 5 speeches
- 9 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.2/2024): Curtailing Privileges of MPs and Former Heads of State 18 speeches
- 10 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.12/2024): Enhancing State Sector Involvement in Food Import and Distribution 77 speeches
- 11 Procedural Procedural Points of Order 6 speeches
- 12 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.19/2024): Course of Action for Implementing Audit Recommendations 24 speeches
- 13 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.25/2024): Providing Housing for Every Family in Sri Lanka 16 speeches
- The Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake moved a Resolution calling for every household head to be facilitated to purchase, build or rent a home, framing housing as a non-partisan national priority linked to family security and economic revival. He cited past Sri Lankan housing initiatives and international examples, and stated that the country faces an estimated shortage of 400,000 to 500,000 housing units, including significant needs in Colombo, Gampaha and the Northern Province. He proposed replacing poor urban settlements with flats, expanding access through State and private financing channels, and treating a large-scale housing programme—estimated at about Rs. 2,500 billion for 500,000 homes—as a feasible supply-side economic intervention.
- The Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake briefly urged that housing construction should also be prioritized for the country and requested a few more minutes to continue his remarks.
Land & Housing Full speech → - The Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake argued for a supply-side, practical housing strategy linked to industrial investment, citing Malaysia’s experience and proposals received from Turkey and China. He said BOI-supported prefabricated housing could be built quickly at around Rs. 1.1 million per unit and urged tailored housing models for urban, agrarian, estate, fisheries, indigenous, war-displaced and village communities. He questioned whether the national housing deficit exceeds 580,000 and called for cross-party cooperation to address it within 10 years, with J.C. Alawathuwala seconding the Motion.
- The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala SJB
AI summary Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala supported Hon. Ravi Karunanayake’s Private Member’s Motion on providing a house for every family, citing severe housing shortages affecting nearly half a million families and over 60,000 low-income families in Colombo living in slum conditions. He argued that, given high land prices and limited land availability, Sri Lanka needs a well-designed, accelerated high-rise housing programme for low-income, middle-income and upper-middle-income groups, building on past initiatives associated with President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Land & Housing Full speech → - The Hon. (Mrs.) M.A.C.S. Chathuri Gangani JJB
AI summary Hon. (Mrs.) M.A.C.S. Chathuri Gangani supported the motion on providing housing for every family, citing census and district data on inadequate housing, including significant needs in Moneragala and Colombo. She outlined Government measures through the National Housing Development Authority, including allocations for low-income houses, middle-income housing loans, public servants’ housing loans, and concessionary rental housing near workplaces. She emphasized that housing policy is being developed in response to identified needs across rural, urban, low-income, and middle-income communities.
Land & Housing Full speech → - Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Chathuri Gangani
AI summary Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Chathuri Gangani outlined Budget allocations and housing programmes, including Rs. 1,000 million for displaced people in the North and East and a 10-year plan to increase new construction and upgrading through the NHDA by 25%. She said support would be provided for young married families through bank-linked loans, increased grants of Rs. 1 million for poor homeless families, and relaxed eligibility based on proof of residence. She also referred to rental-purchase apartments for families without land or repayment capacity, 5,000 estate-sector houses with Indian Government assistance, and accessible housing for persons with disabilities.
Land & Housing Full speech → - The Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees procedural
- Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development JJB
AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha moved that Hon. (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne take the Chair during the sitting. The motion was agreed to, after which the Deputy Chairperson of Committees left the Chair and Hon. Kaushalya Ariyarathne assumed it.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka - Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing JJB
AI summary Minister Anura Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka faces a housing need of about 937,678 units, with nearly 495,520 existing houses requiring upgrading or reconstruction, and argued that past housing projects often failed due to poor planning and weak implementation frameworks. He cited incomplete NHDA projects from 2017–2018 and failed housing villages in Hambantota as examples of unsustainable planning. He stated that the Government’s policy is to ensure a safe home for all, with the Ministry’s agencies supporting 1,764 houses this year, increasing the grant from Rs. 600,000 to Rs. 1,000,000, and planning to hand over urban regeneration units in Colombo, including at Kirulapone and Stadium Gama, later in the year.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka JJB
AI summary Hon. Anura Karunathilaka outlined planned housing projects across several areas, including schemes supported by Indian assistance in Maduluwawa Sobitha Gama, Mannar and Mullaitivu, and Chinese-assisted apartments in Peliyagoda, Dematagoda, Mannar, Kottawa and elsewhere. He stated that, despite state and donor support, the country remains far from meeting an estimated one million housing need, and said the Ministry, NHDA and Urban Settlement Development Authority will formulate a new integrated national housing policy with new concepts and a more structured approach.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake urged that housing delivery be treated as a non-partisan national priority and implemented through public–private partnerships rather than relying solely on government expenditure. He argued that available funds and land should be used to mobilize the private sector, speed up implementation, revive construction-related industry, and avoid delays from procurement processes. Citing estimates of a housing need of around 900,000 units and 1.5 million landless people, he called for a practical mechanism with clear targets to address housing shortages.
- 14 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.37/2025): Public Transport Standards and Bus Specifications 17 speeches
- 15 Debate Private Members' Motion (P.38/2025): Utilization of Abandoned Development Projects 15 speeches
- 16 Adjournment Adjournment Debate: Law and Order and Crime Prevention 13 speeches