The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the reply to Hon. Imran Maharoof’s question is as follows.

¶ 02 As per the Hon. President’s announcement, a special programme has been set via circulars to grant relief to those affected by the ‘Ditva’ cyclone.

¶ 03 1. In Trincomalee District, 27,515 families and 91,087 individuals have applied for compensation. Not all have been paid yet. Payments are ongoing, and further payments will be made. A detailed list of all paid beneficiaries is available as Annex 01.

¶ 04 2. Under National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) guidelines, the Rs. 25,000 grant is eligible in the following cases: - Fully damaged houses. - Partially damaged houses due to floods, flash floods, strong winds, landslides, and falling trees. - Houses made unsanitary due to floods, winds, landslides, and tree falls.

¶ 05 The Rs. 50,000 grant is eligible in the following cases: - Fully damaged houses. - Partially damaged houses due to floods, flash floods, strong winds, landslides, and falling trees. - Houses where kitchen equipment and essential household goods were damaged due to those hazards.

¶ 06 Therefore, all recipients eligible for Rs. 25,000 are not necessarily eligible for Rs. 50,000.

¶ 07 Since we face recurring questions on payments, the payment process has been set out in guidelines, attached as Annex 02.

¶ 08 3. Regarding your third question, we inquired from the Muttur DS yesterday. Once details are received, we will submit them to the House.

¶ 09 4. As at 20 February 2026, grants have been paid to 499 beneficiaries. Of the 1,692 you mentioned, 330 have been paid so far. Funds required for the remaining beneficiaries have been sent to the District Secretary. Annex 03 shows details of those paid and those pending.

¶ 10 5. Up to now, no such incident has been reported to the NDRSC. Government officials are working diligently day and night. Our Government exerts no undue pressure on them.

¶ 11 6. As at 20 February 2026, an initial mobilization payment of Rs. 2 million each has been paid to 19 beneficiaries with fully damaged houses, totalling Rs. 38 million.

¶ 12 7. We will obtain information from the District Secretary and table details subsequently.

¶ 13 8. As at 20 February 2026, only two families have applied for rental assistance; both have been paid.

¶ 14 9. Payments for crop damage are not made under the NDRSC circular; that is handled by another Ministry. We will refer it there for your information.

¶ 15 10. As at 3 March 2026, the Kandy District Secretariat has been provided Rs. 3.948 million for initial mobilization payments for fully damaged houses, and Rs. 4.591 million for partial house damage compensation. A special programme is in place to expedite and regularize these payments.

¶ 16 Annexes 01, 02 and 03 are tabled.

¶ 17 Thank you.