The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Member, regarding that false allegation, the RDA has lodged a complaint with the Police against Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha. Not a single rupee from the RDA account— I will answer the question. He claimed that Rs. 380 million had been paid twice to contractors by the RDA. Together with our Hon. Deputy Minister Prasanna Gunasekera, the RDA refuted this with facts at a media briefing. He made those baseless accusations, involving us as well. The RDA has lodged a complaint with the Police on this matter.

¶ 02 On the other issue, though not directly related to this Question, I will obtain information and inform. Audit queries exist, but they are not direct proof. Several reasons could explain discrepancies: at times, due to shortage of tellers at toll plazas, vehicles may enter but at exit there may be no staff; toll gates have also been compromised through various methods. This is why it appears as an audit query; it has not been proven by audit. We must respond to it, and the RDA will provide full answers in due course. There is evident leakage at some exits and entrances; it may still be occurring, but we are minimizing it and strengthening the system.