The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera
Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera stated that payments for “transitional” welfare beneficiaries, which were due to end on 31 December 2025, have been extended to 30 June 2026 through a proposal under the Welfare Benefits Act approved by Parliament. He said fresh applications were invited after the Government took office, with over 800,000 applicants and about 287,000 selected in the second round, while further beneficiaries will be added after bank account openings and the consideration of appeals and objections.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, regarding the first part: for those identified as “transitional” beneficiaries, payments were due to end on 31.12.2025. Accordingly, a proposal under the Welfare Benefits Act was gazetted and approved by Parliament yesterday, extending payments until 30th June 2026.
¶ 02 On new intakes: after this Government assumed office, we called for fresh applications from those who newly qualify. Over 800,000 applied; about 287,000 were selected and, in the second round, have qualified and now are beneficiaries. Additionally, those yet to open bank accounts will receive payments once they do, and, after considering appeals and objections, further eligible applicants will also be included.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 21 January 2026 ·No. 23242 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/2038
Cite as: The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 January 2026. No. 23242. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/2038