10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. Rohana Bandara

15 November 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: Q.562/2025 - Lands Belonging to Sri Lanka Railways: Lease

InfrastructureLaw & OrderLand & Housing
AI summary generated by gpt-5.5

Hon. Rohana Bandara acknowledged the Minister’s efforts to uplift the railway sector and drew attention to underutilized railway lands in towns such as Anuradhapura, Ratmalana and Mahawa. He said dilapidated railway quarters in Anuradhapura, located near the market and tourist access points, were being misused despite demand for holiday accommodation. He asked whether steps would be taken to develop these assets, either by the Department or through private sector involvement, to improve urban areas and generate benefits for the State and the Department.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, you are making a major effort to uplift this sector; we appreciate it. In key towns like Anuradhapura, Ratmalana and Mahawa, there are large tracts of railway land, some encroached, some leased. In Anuradhapura, near the market area and the tourist access point, there are many old quarters facing the main road which are now dilapidated, leading to misuse and crime, while there is high demand for holiday accommodation. If these could be developed by the Department or private sector, it would benefit urban beautification and curb wrongdoing. Will you take prompt steps to develop such assets to benefit the State and the Department?

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Saturday, 15 November 2025 ·No. 22870 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink
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Cite as: The Hon. Rohana Bandara. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 15 November 2025. No. 22870. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/28975