The Hon. Sudath Balagalla

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, my first supplementary:

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Minister, this has a history. The present President, Anura Dissanayake, as Minister of Agriculture in 2004, laid the foundation stone on this land to build an agricultural equipment sales centre to serve farmers of the Girandurukotte C-Region, Mapakada Wewa, Sorabora Wewa, Dambarawa Wewa, Nagadeepa, Bathmedilla, Komarika, Badulu and Minipe schemes. Over time, various politicians tried to grab this land. Recently, with the concurrence of then Land Minister Harin Fernando and approval of the Coordinating Committee chaired by former State Minister Thenuka Vidanagamage, this valuable land—worth over Rs. 300–400 million—was swiftly taken.

¶ 03 Your answer says economic production capacity is considered, and that age/health are not relevant. But the land was registered in the name of the father of a former UNP Chairman of the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha; he is 82 years old. Without tender or auction, how can such high-value land be given on political influence? I request you to investigate the abuse here.