The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 Thank you, Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees.

¶ 02 Hon. Hector Appuhamy has brought an important Adjournment Motion. I expect the Hon. Deputy Minister, Anton Jayakody, to reply. I will focus particularly on matters relating to the Ministry of Environment.

¶ 03 Hon. Minister, during last year’s floods, not only the people of Batticaloa District but the entire Eastern Province faced great hardship. The new Government then was not ready. Over the past year, we submitted multiple proposals, including the Construction of Disaster Safety Centres at four locations: Vettuchenai–Porativu Pattu; Perampaditheevu–Koralai Pattu South; Eravur–Koddai Medu–Manmunai South & Eravur Pattu; and Paddiyadichenai–Manmunai South West. Studies and reports have been prepared. The monsoon has begun and our district may face floods again this year. I request urgent attention and action. I table the letter sent by the Batticaloa District Government Agent to the Director‑General of Disaster Management.

¶ 04 Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees, while this motion is forward‑thinking—whether on carbon credits, G20 or climate goals—there is an urgent issue requiring Government intervention. In the Eastern Province, Trincomalee District, in Kuchchaveli, the coastline is being degraded under the present Government of the National People’s Power. The Chairman of GSMB, Mr. Sanjeewa Perera, is now acting as a consultant to a private company, “James Global”. Hon. Deputy Minister, you worked at GSMB and know that historically only exploration licences were issued in that area.

¶ 05 I also cite two speeches made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in this Parliament, recorded in Hansard. One is dated 2023.10.19, to which then Minister Ramesh Pathirana responded. It is clear there is a serious issue regarding activities under the Ministry you oversaw until the 18th. Today, one company—James Global—appears to have been given an exploration licence effectively to remove ilmenite across areas of the Eastern Province including Kuchchaveli and Batticaloa. Who is behind this permission? Is this the policy of the Government? Is this what the people elected this Government for? Thank you for the opportunity to raise these issues connected to this important motion by Hon. Hector Appuhamy.