The Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage - Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment
Minister Upali Pannilage said rural poverty eradication remains a government priority and noted that the 2025 Rural Development Bureau, initially funded with Rs. 1 billion, has been expanded into the “Praja Shakthi” National Movement. He stated that the programme aims to avoid weaknesses of earlier initiatives while adopting their strengths, using a participatory approach to reduce dependency and empower rural communities. He also said Rs. 25,000 million has been allocated for rural development this year, with implementation to be coordinated across ministries, Provincial Councils and local authorities.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, eradicating rural poverty remains a priority. In 2025 we established the Rural Development Bureau and allocated Rs. 1 billion initially. We have now elevated this into the “Praja Shakthi” National Movement to eradicate poverty, designed by removing negative traits of prior programmes and adopting their best features.
¶ 02 With a participatory development approach, freeing people from a dependency mindset and empowering them socially, economically and psychologically, we have allocated Rs. 25,000 million this year for rural development—25 times last year’s allocation. We are also coordinating with other ministries, Provincial Councils and local authorities to drive rural development under this movement.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 21 May 2026 ·No. 23621 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage - Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 May 2026. No. 23621. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/7316