The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake
Hon. Bimal Rathnayake explained that Maga Neguma is technically and legally closed, with most employees having retired under a VRS or been compulsorily retired by the previous Government. He said 63 staff were retained to handle pending cases, assets, contractor payments, equipment, and possible transfer matters involving the Road Development Authority. He noted that arbitration costs are about Rs. 3 million per month and said any review would require examining court orders and resolving the matters lawfully after discussions.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, out of about 900 employees, around 700 have retired under a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). Another 122 were compulsorily retired by the previous Government. Legally, staff are not operating within Maga Neguma. However, as you said, various payments must be made to contractors; equipment exists; and there are several cases. The previous Government decided to continue with 63 staff to handle cases, assets, and possible transfer to the Road Development Authority (RDA). Technically, Maga Neguma is legally closed; I have clarified what remains.
¶ 02 Regarding arbitration, the highest spending is there—about Rs. 3 million per month. Whether a review is needed, I cannot state now, as I have not read the court orders. There are several cases beyond the one you mentioned. We hope to resolve this efficiently and lawfully after discussions.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 18 December 2024 ·No. 1735286612086554 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 December 2024. No. 1735286612086554. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/12117