Hon. Gamagedara Dissanayake - Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister, I answer:

¶ 02 (a) (i) Construction work had been halted by the end of 2019. The expenditure incurred by the end of 2019 was Rs. 1,432.26 million. (ii) The total expenditure has been borne under the Ministry in charge of Cultural Affairs. (iii) The Ministry bears the maintenance costs relating to water and electricity bills. The details are as follows: - 2020 (Jan-Dec): Water Rs. 205,959.32; Electricity Rs. 226,935.60 - 2021 (Jan-Dec): Water Rs. 114,246.66; Electricity Rs. 143,410.30 - 2022 (Jan-Dec): Water Rs. 66,728.80; Electricity Rs. 161,202.11 - 2023 (Jan-Dec): Water Rs. 199,049.68; Electricity Rs. 275,667.89 - 2024 (Jan-Dec): Water Rs. 121,088.60; Electricity Rs. 159,614.80 - 2025 (Jan-Jul): Water Rs. 36,404.96; Electricity Rs. 44,861.54 Regarding security, the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs is not directly involved; however, the Ministry of Defence has deployed a six-soldier team for security. (iv) Given the halt in construction in 2019, the lack of current utilization, and the Ministry’s inability to allocate further funds, an alternative proposal was submitted. Cabinet, by Cabinet Memorandum dated 2024.07.05, granted approval in principle to transfer the buildings and land of the Cultural Centre to the University of Ruhuna. Preliminary steps have been taken; on 2024.05.22, the Vice-Chancellor and officials of the University of Ruhuna, the Chairman of the SAARC Centre and Ministry officials inspected the premises and agreed in principle to the transfer. The University’s Council was to provide a formal letter of consent to the Ministry. However, this formal letter has not yet been received; therefore, the process is presently halted.

¶ 03 (b) Not applicable.