The Hon. (Mrs.) Thushari Jayasingha, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Question to the Minister of Defence:

¶ 02 (a) Will he inform this House— (i) the sectors in which the existing laws pertaining to the use of explosives for commercial purposes are expected to be amended; (ii) the procedures adopted for the storage and issuance of explosives; (iii) the designations of the officers who implement these procedures; (iv) if Assistant Officers in charge of districts have been appointed for this purpose, the role of the said officers; (v) whether the post of Controller of Explosives remains vacant at present; (vi) whether action will be taken to fill this vacancy; and (vii) the reasons for not preparing second-tier officers for the above post?

¶ 03 (b) Will he also inform this House— (i) separately, the number of licences for explosives that have been issued on a commercial basis and the number of active licensees at present; (ii) the procedure adopted in issuing those licences; (iii) whether those licences are regulated; (iv) the private facilities used for the storage of explosives; (v) the steps that have been taken for their security; and (vi) the quantity of explosives issued to a licensee at a time?

¶ 04 If not, why?