Sitting of Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 22594 ·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 Speaker's Announcements 9 speeches
- 2 Committee report Committee Reports 2 speeches
- 3 Petitions Petitions 8 speeches
- 4 Procedural Procedural Matters: National Police Commission and Standing Orders 29 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Children of Incarcerated Mothers 18 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: UN Human Rights Report on Sri Lanka 8 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Question No. 1 – 1180/2025: AWOL Service Members 11 speeches
- 8 Oral question Oral Questions Nos. 03, 04, 05: Prison Inmates, Mahiyangana Fair, GN Offices in Vavuniya 27 speeches
- 9 Oral question Second Round Questions and Standing Order 27(2) Questions 16 speeches
- 10 Procedural Ministry Statements: Brain Drain, Kankesanthurai Port, Government Translators Service 11 speeches
- 11 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: National Police Commission Powers 8 speeches
- 12 Debate Debate: Supplementary Sum - Head 117 - Programme 02 (Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation) 84 speeches
- 13 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: Release of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Lands in Trincomalee District 16 speeches
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Roshan Akmeemana JJB
AI summary Hon. Roshan Akmeemana moved an Adjournment Motion urging the release of Sri Lanka Ports Authority lands in 11 Grama Niladhari divisions in the Trincomalee Town and Gravets DS Division to long-time resident families. He said the lands were vested in the SLPA by Gazette No. 314/10 of 1984, but about 790 hectares have since been identified as non-essential to port needs and are occupied by approximately 4,672 families. He stated that discussions with local officials, the SLPA and the Minister of Ports had led to a political decision to release lands for around 5,000 families, and requested that the administrative process be expedited to grant legal title.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Aboobucker Athambawa JJB
AI summary Hon. Aboobucker Athambawa stated that he seconded and supported the Motion brought by Hon. Roshan Akmeemana.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary M. Nizam Kariapper supported the Motion to release lands in Trincomalee vested under a 1984 Gazette for Sri Lanka Ports Authority purposes, noting that the vesting affected homesteads and paddy lands across Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities and restricted even basic improvements for four decades. He welcomed the Government’s move but raised concerns about reported allocations of some land to four solar power companies and asked for clarity on demarcations, acreage, and Gazette procedures. He requested that, once criteria are set, priority be given transparently and fairly to genuine residents and cultivators occupying the lands between 1970 and 1984.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment JJB
AI summary The Deputy Minister said a longstanding land issue in the Trincomalee Town and Gravets DS Division, dating from the 1980s, is now being addressed through coordination with the Divisional Secretary and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. He stated that lands in 11 GN divisions have been identified, with permits being prepared for about 4,500 to 5,000 families and around 800 hectares to be released. He added that in Muththunagar, permits for homestead lands for about 186 families are being arranged, while agricultural land matters will be handled separately, and said other Trincomalee land issues will be addressed through a structured process.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Imran Maharoof SJB
AI summary Welcoming the Adjournment Motion on releasing Sri Lanka Ports Authority lands in 11 GN divisions of Town and Gravets, Trincomalee, the Member urged the Government to give immediate priority to the Muththunagar land issue affecting about 350 families. He said residents had protested for 21 days, faced difficulties meeting officials, and that five farmers were arrested despite assurances at a District Coordinating Committee meeting that cultivation could continue on surplus lands. He called on the Government, given its parliamentary majority and control of relevant offices, to engage with the affected people, provide relief, honour election commitments, and proceed with releasing the lands for public use.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan ITAK
AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan supported the Adjournment Motion on releasing Sri Lanka Ports Authority lands in Trincomalee, describing the proposed return as a correction of past land dispossession in Town and Gravets areas such as Linganagar, Palaiyootru, Poombuhar, Kappalthurai, Munthunagar and China Kuda. He said lands originally occupied by about 800 families were taken around 1979, and urged the Government to release the maximum possible extent, noting that 4,672 families are now affected and only 790 hectares are proposed for return while 1,219 hectares remain with the SLPA. He also called for urgent attention to alleged land seizures and associated religious-site developments in Kuchchaveli, Thiriyaai and other Tamil areas, while pledging cooperation for the initiative.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament JJB
AI summary The Minister responded to a motion on Trincomalee Port, stating that the Government supports both developing the port and related industries and granting land rights to long-settled residents living on adjacent lands, irrespective of ethnicity or religion. He said delays in issuing titles since the 1984 Gazette should be examined, and outlined recent discussions involving the Prime Minister, relevant ministers, the SLPA, and other officials. He noted complications arising from prior lease agreements granted to solar power companies before the current Government, saying any changes require due process. He announced that titles would be issued to eligible residents, including some without documentation after verification, on 790 hectares identified as not required by the SLPA, where about 4,000 families live.
- Hon. [Name not clear]
AI summary The Member said that families affected by the Muththunagar solar power project, including those unable to cultivate during the Maha season due to signed power purchase agreements, will be identified and compensated by the Ministry of Power. He stated that landless cultivators will be identified and provided alternative land outside the port area, while about 4,000 families occupying 2,500 acres agreed to be released by the port will receive title deeds. He urged Trincomalee District political leaders to support port development and related industries while protecting residents’ rights, and defended the Government’s actions as consistent with written policy.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural