The Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi· Digamadulla· 22 January 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: Kalmunai North Divisional Secretariat Status (Q.6/2025)

Law & OrderCorruption & Governance Reform

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Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran challenged the Minister’s response regarding Kalmunai North, stating that it had been upgraded as a full Divisional Secretariat by Cabinet decision in 1993 and had functioned for decades with its own GN divisions, staff, Divisional Secretary, and buildings. He asked whether any Ministry Secretary or Government Agent had authority, or Cabinet approval, to downgrade it to a sub-Divisional Secretariat or place it under Kalmunai South, particularly while related court cases were pending. He also questioned why Kalmunai North alone was treated differently when other Divisional Secretariats operate without finalized boundaries, and sought clarification on whether the change was politically motivated or would deny residents administrative services.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, you have not given a correct answer. In 1993, with Cabinet approval, this was upgraded to a full Divisional Secretariat, as per Cabinet Memorandum and Cabinet decision. For nearly 34 years it has had 29 GN Divisions, a Divisional Secretary, 329 staff, and buildings. Can a Ministry Secretary or Government Agent downgrade it to a sub-DS? Is there Cabinet approval requiring it to function under Kalmunai South? Has any Cabinet decision been made to downgrade it to a sub-office?

¶ 02 From 2019, the Ministry’s publications listed 331 DS Divisions, including this one as a full DS. Now it is shown as a sub-DS. While cases are pending, how can this be changed?

¶ 03 Also, there are 27 DS Divisions in Sri Lanka operating without finalized boundaries but with Cabinet approval as full DS. Why only Kalmunai North faces this treatment? Is this politically motivated, or intended to deprive the local populace of administrative services? Please clarify.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Wednesday, 22 January 2025 ·No. 1739261035021938 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 22 January 2025. No. 1739261035021938. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/5664