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

The Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Polonnaruwa· 21 May 2026 ·Oral question: Oral Question Q.1770/2025: Rural Development Bureau Projects in Batticaloa District

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Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri asked how Community Development Councils will address persistent rural poverty despite successive programmes such as Janasaviya, Samurdhi, Divi Neguma, and Aswesuma. He questioned whether the new approach would avoid the shortcomings of earlier poverty alleviation schemes, while noting the selection of a highly impoverished GN Division.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Minister, for selecting a most impoverished GN Division.

¶ 02 My second supplementary: Since 1989 various poverty alleviation programmes—Janasaviya (1989–1995), Samurdhi (1995–date), Divi Neguma (2012–2016), and Aswesuma (from 2023)—have operated, yet rural poverty persists. What is the approach of Community Development Councils to eradicate rural poverty, and will this programme avoid repeating past pitfalls?

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Thursday, 21 May 2026 ·No. 23621 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 May 2026. No. 23621. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/7315