Sitting of Monday, 24 November 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 23008 ·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 Speaker's Announcement: Oral Questions Procedure 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Papers: Public Debt Management Regulations 1 speeches
- 3 Committee report Committee Report: Public Finance Committee on Regulations 1 speeches
- 4 Procedural Brief Procedural Clarification on Committee Report 2 speeches
- 5 Petitions Petitions: Five Citizens' Petitions Accepted 2 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: Q.1 (1272/2025) - Request for Adjournment 3 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Question: Agricultural Lands in Pottuvil and Lakugala (Q.2) 6 speeches
- 8 Oral question Oral Question: Jaffna College of Technology Infrastructure (Q.3) 6 speeches
- 9 Oral question Oral Question: Education Zones in Trincomalee District (Q.4) 6 speeches
- 10 Oral question Oral Question: Teaching Hospitals (Q.5) 2 speeches
- 11 Oral question Oral Question: Equal Educational Opportunities - Standing Order 27(2) (Q.6) 10 speeches
- 12 Procedural Ministerial Statement and Procedural Matters on Archaeology 5 speeches
- 13 Oral question Oral Question: India Trade Relations - Standing Order 27(2) Response 14 speeches
- 14 Procedural Ministerial Statements: Defence and Gender-based Violence 3 speeches
- 15 Debate Appropriation Bill 2026 Committee Stage: Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation - Part 1 14 speeches
- 16 Procedural Adjournment for Lunch 1 speeches
- 17 Debate Appropriation Bill 2026 Committee Stage: Transport, Highways, Ports, Civil Aviation, Urban Development, Construction and Housing 115 speeches
- 18 Papers Civil Aviation Act: Regulations 1 speeches
- 19 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: Land Issues in Verugal DS Division, Trincomalee 20 speeches
- The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Leader of the House of Parliament JJB
AI summary Moved the adjournment of Parliament. The motion “That Parliament do now adjourn” was then proposed.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member called Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan to speak on the adjournment motion and allocated him seven minutes.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan ITAK
AI summary Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan raised an Adjournment Motion on land-related restrictions in the Verugal Divisional Secretariat Division of Trincomalee, arguing that overlapping claims by the Wildlife and Forest Departments exceed the division’s total land area and obstruct residents, public institutions and development activities. He stated that long-established villages, schools, religious sites, public offices, pasture lands and irrigation tanks fall within these claimed areas, while approvals for leases, public facilities and cultivation projects are delayed or denied. He specifically requested intervention to release lands or regularize procedures, including approval for rehabilitating a canal at Kallaripu to cultivate about 2,000 acres and relief for cattle herders affected by restrictions on traditional grazing lands.
- Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member called on Hon. Imran Maharoof to second the motion and informed him that he had three minutes to speak.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Imran Maharoof SJB
AI summary Hon. Imran Maharoof supported the Adjournment Motion on land acquisition issues in Verugal, noting that most of the division’s 32,042 acres are claimed by the Wildlife Department or other agencies, creating boundary overlaps that affect residents and public institutions. He said these claims have stalled development projects, prevented implementation of coordinating committee decisions, and restricted the effective use of government allocations. He requested the relevant Ministry and the Government to resolve the issue, citing Verugal’s past hardships from war and floods, and formally seconded the Motion.
- The Hon. Anton Jayakody - Deputy Minister of Environment JJB
AI summary The Deputy Minister responded to concerns about lands in Verugal DS Division within the Seruwila–Allai Sanctuary, noting that the sanctuary was gazetted in 1970 and that private titleholders retain their rights despite sanctuary status. He acknowledged difficulties involving state lands and said similar issues affect the North, East, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura due to sanctuary and reserve designations. He stated that a Cabinet-approved committee under Sustainable Forest Management is reviewing affected lands, boundary demarcation, long-standing occupation and lawful entitlement, with a view to recommending de-gazetting or release where appropriate. He assured that farmers, residents, public institutions, places of worship and schools with long-standing use or lawful rights in Trincomalee, including Seruwila–Allai, would not be unjustly affected.
- Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member called on Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC, to speak next and informed him that he had two minutes allotted.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary M. Nizam Kariapper requested the Presiding Member to allow him to use the unused portion of Hon. Kugathasan’s allotted speaking time, noting that Kugathasan had not fully used the two minutes given to him.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member informed a participant that they were allotted three minutes to speak.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary M. Nizam Kariapper, PC stated that he had been allotted four minutes but spoke for only two minutes, noting that the time was not fully used.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member allotted the member three minutes to speak.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary M. Nizam Kariapper briefly noted the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence,” stating that awareness should include male victims and online abuse. Addressing the Adjournment Motion, he raised concerns that State agencies, including Wildlife, Coast Conservation and Archaeology, had previously been used to acquire lands in the North and East in ways affecting Tamil-speaking communities. He cited land issues in Trincomalee, including Verugal, Valaimadu and Panichchankulam, and welcomed the Government’s proposed committee on North and East land issues while requesting a mechanism for MPs to submit views and receive updates. He urged that conservation objectives be pursued objectively without taking people’s paddy or residential lands, and asked that Opposition Tamil-speaking MPs from the North and East be included in the committee process.
- Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member called on Hon. Arun Hemachandra, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, to address the House. He informed the Deputy Minister that he had four minutes to speak.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment JJB
AI summary Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra said land issues in Trincomalee stem from forest and related gazettements dating from around 1970, including later “proposed forest” classifications, and affect all 11 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the district. He stated that, following a 2024 committee report, Cabinet Paper No. 25/1560/826/020 of 25 August 2025 appointed a multi-agency sub-committee covering relevant departments, district officials, provincial land authorities and other land-related institutions to propose a permanent solution within six months. He added that no new lands had been taken under the current administration and that land releases from forest and wildlife holdings had begun in areas including Trincomalee, Kuchchaveli and Muttur.
- Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary The Presiding Member calls on Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran to speak and informs him that he has three minutes.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran ITAK
AI summary Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran supported the Adjournment Motion on alleged land acquisitions by the Wildlife Department in Verugal, stating that Wildlife and Forest Department claims together exceed the total land area of Verugal and include inhabited areas with public facilities and religious sites. He cited specific gazettes and acreage figures, questioned the basis and competence of these claims, and extended the concern to Mullaitivu, referring to multiple sanctuaries, reserves, a proposed Marine Protected Area, and cases filed against farmers. He urged the Government and the Deputy Minister to release lands taken from people in the North and East.
- The Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment JJB
AI summary The Minister explained that sanctuary declarations, including the Seruwila–Allai Sanctuary gazetted in 1970, do not change land ownership but require Wildlife Department approval for any development or alteration within the area. He acknowledged unresolved land issues in war-affected areas, including possible errors from GPS-based demarcation, and noted earlier efforts to identify lands for release. He said a Cabinet decision on 25 August 2025 led to a special inter-ministerial committee and district-level subcommittees to address these matters, and urged affected parties to present their cases through those forums.
- The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary Asked the Minister whether the Cabinet decision applies to Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and more broadly to all districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi JJB
AI summary Confirmed that the matter under discussion applies to all districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution Full speech → - Mr. Presiding Member
AI summary Parliament was adjourned by the Presiding Member after 6.30 p.m. without a question being put. The sitting ended at 7.08 p.m. and was scheduled to resume at 9.00 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, in accordance with the Resolution of Parliament of 13 November 2025.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →