The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Yes. We accept that there is a delay.

¶ 02 At present, the number of case exhibits pending analysis in this Department exceeds 29,432, of which approximately 17,248 relate to the Narcotics Division alone. The number of case exhibits received daily by the Narcotics Division alone is between 200-250.

¶ 03 Currently, there are 322 vacancies in the Sri Lanka Scientific Service and 89 vacancies in the support services. The officers presently in service perform duties on weekends and after official hours.

¶ 04 Accordingly, to expedite analysis and provide reports for all of the above case exhibits, the following steps are being taken:

¶ 05 1. Annexure 11 shows the number of vacancies from 2019 up to 30 June 2025. It will be tabled. There were no recruitments to the Sri Lanka Scientific Service after 2019. In 2024, 9 officers left service, and no recruitments have been made after 2019. The Public Service Commission has called for applications to urgently fill current vacancies in the Sri Lanka Scientific Service, whose officers directly contribute to analytical work, and steps are being taken to complete these recruitments expeditiously.

¶ 06 2. For the remaining vacancies, the recruitment process for the 00655 Service has been submitted for the approval of the Committee on Reviewing Recruitment Processes. Upon receiving Cabinet approval thereon, recruitments are to be made expeditiously for the approved number of vacancies.

¶ 07 3. Until permanent vacancies are filled, Cabinet approval is being sought to recruit science degree holders on contract to fill vacancies in the Sri Lanka Scientific Service to carry out urgent analytical reporting.

¶ 08 4. The number of case exhibits received for analysis is increasing rapidly day by day. Therefore, as the current cadre is insufficient to handle the growing workload, a proposal has been submitted to the Committee on Reviewing Recruitment Processes to increase the cadre.

¶ 09 - Placed in the Library.

¶ 10 5. Since the direct contribution of officers holding other departmental positions (Laboratory Technological Service Officers, Management Service Officers, Development Officers, Drivers, etc.) is also essential for every such activity, vacancies in those posts too must be filled.

¶ 11 6. As many officers must appear in court almost daily, steps are being taken to utilize new technology to obtain analytical evidence.

¶ 12 (b) Not applicable.