Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
Deputy Minister Namal Karunaratne said investigations into the Polonnaruwa fertilizer fraud, based on information from several Members, found that fertilizer labelled as containing 46% nitrogen had much lower nitrogen content and had already been widely distributed. He stated that such frauds harm farmers and the national economy, and argued that the current Act’s penalties are inadequate. He said the law should be amended to impose stronger, deterrent penalties.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, you are correct. I too intervened regarding the Polonnaruwa fertilizer fraud. With information from Hon. Rathwatte and Deputy Minister Wasantha Piyanissa, and from you, we uncovered a massive fraud. A large quantity had already been distributed. Although labelled 46% nitrogen, the content was only around the twenties. More such frauds are being exposed, causing great harm to farmers and the national economy. Under the current Act, the penalties are minimal and not a deterrent; offenders can reoffend. Therefore, the Act must be amended and penalties strengthened—we are of that view.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Thursday, 7 August 2025 ·No. 1755509552009433 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 August 2025. No. 1755509552009433. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/24225