The Hon. P. Ruwan Senarath - Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I respond to the questions raised by Hon. M.A.M. Thahir.

¶ 02 1. Funds were provided in 2017 and 2024. The work was completed in December 2024. When steps were being taken to hand it over to the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha for further management, opposition from a group of persons claiming to represent the Mohideen Jumma Mosque prevented handing it over for public use.

¶ 03 At project inception, the mosque’s Board of Governors had agreed to provide this land for the purpose; relevant letters are produced as Annexes 01 and 02, which I place in the Library.

¶ 04 2. It has not been conclusively established by survey whether the exact portion on which the building stands is definitively owned by the mosque. 3. Yes. 4. No.

¶ 05 5. (i) An allocation of Rs. 35.7 million in 2017 enabled partial completion of this multipurpose building, which was finalized in 2024 with allocations from the Presidential Secretariat. However, due to obstructions by a group of persons, it could not be handed to the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha. The 2017 allocations, from the then Ministry of Prisons, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, were specifically for a multipurpose conference centre to be used fairly and accessed by all. Therefore, it cannot be given for management under the mosque.

¶ 06 Related letters are produced as Annexes 03 and 04, which I place in the Library.

¶ 07 (ii) Since this building was funded in 2017 by the then Ministry for a multipurpose facility, the rights of all residents in the area to use it must be protected. Hence, it cannot be placed under mosque management. Until land title is regularized for public use, it can be assigned to the Pradeshiya Sabha for management. For this, the District Secretary requires the cooperation of the mosque and other stakeholders to hand it over to the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha.