Topic
Environment
980 speeches · 242 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi, M.P. JJB | 78 |
| 2 | Hon. Kumara Jayakody, M.P. JJB | 48 |
| 3 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 41 |
| 4 | Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, M.P. NDF | 28 |
| 5 | Hon. Anton Jayakody, M.P. JJB | 28 |
| 6 | Hon. Ajith P. Perera, M.P. SJB | 22 |
| 7 | Hon. Hector Appuhamy, M.P. SJB | 19 |
| 8 | Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran, M.P. ITAK | 15 |
| 9 | Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, M.P. JJB | 14 |
| 10 | Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe, M.P. JJB | 13 |
Speeches
980 on this topic- 22 January 2025 The Hon. Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment JJB AI summary The Minister stated that past policy failures had worsened the human–elephant conflict and placed both communities and elephants at risk. He said the Government is consulting experts, collecting information, and preparing a systematic programme for elephant conservation and urgent intervention to restore balance between humans and elephants. Oral Question: Wild Elephant Detention Centre in Lunugamwehera (Q.1/2025) Read →
- 22 January 2025 The Hon. Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi SJB AI summary Hon. Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi questioned the implementation of the Lunugamwehera project, citing allegations that vested interests outweighed public needs under the previous Government. He noted deficiencies in elephant protection centres, including in Kolonna, Ratnapura and Udawalawe, where basic resources were lacking despite their tourism importance. He asked whether the Minister had identified new programmes and approaches for elephant conservation or would continue with existing plans and officials. Oral Question: Wild Elephant Detention Centre in Lunugamwehera (Q.1/2025) Read →
- 22 January 2025 The Hon. Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment JJB AI summary Minister Dammika Patabendi replied that Rs. 431.89 million had been spent on the Lunugamwehera National Park elephant detention centre, including tanks, roads, culverts, vegetation clearance, fencing, and railway sleeper transport. He stated that funding came from the World Bank’s Ecosystem Conservation and Management Project and the Wildlife Conservation Fund. He acknowledged allegations regarding the project and said a preliminary ministerial inquiry is underway, with further action to depend on its findings. Oral Question: Wild Elephant Detention Centre in Lunugamwehera (Q.1/2025) Read →
- 22 January 2025 The Hon. Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi SJB AI summary Asked the Minister of Environment whether he was aware of the wild elephant detention centre project in Lunugamwehera National Park, including its expenditure and funding sources. He further asked whether the project had reportedly failed and, if so, what remedial steps the Ministry intended to take. Oral Question: Wild Elephant Detention Centre in Lunugamwehera (Q.1/2025) Read →
- 22 January 2025 The Hon. Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment JJB AI summary The Minister of Environment presented the 2023 Annual Performance Report of the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management. He proposed that the report be referred to the Consultative Committee on the Ministry of Environment, and the House agreed. Papers: Annual Reports Tabled (Sri Lanka Institute of Policy Studies, Ministry of Health, Department of Coast Conservation) Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka AI summary The response provides details on landslide risk zones in the Nuwara Eliya District, listing affected Grama Niladhari divisions under Ambagamuwa, Kotmale, Nuwara Eliya, Walapane and Hanguranketha Divisional Secretariats, with annexes cited for identified houses and immovable properties. It states that existing resettlement assistance amounts are inadequate under current market prices and that a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared to increase grants for land purchase, land-with-house purchase, and house construction while revising the standard house size. It also notes interim measures to use available funds for basic habitable structures, provide a monthly rental allowance for six months to landslide-affected families, and coordinate evacuations during heavy rainfall. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary The Hon. Rauff Hakeem asked the Minister of Defence to provide details on landslide-risk areas in the Nuwara Eliya District amid rainy conditions since January 2024. He sought information on affected settlements and public properties, a breakdown of occupied vulnerable houses and immovable properties by Divisional Secretary and Grama Niladhari divisions, and the alternative measures planned for residents in those houses. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka AI summary Anura Kumara Dissanayaka provided details on landslide-risk zones and affected families in the Kandy District, identifying 34 families across several Divisional Secretariat and Grama Niladhari divisions. He outlined the existing resettlement assistance scheme and said a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared to increase grants for land purchase, house purchase and house construction, while interim arrangements and rental allowances are provided for displaced families. He also noted evacuation procedures during heavy rainfall and said proposed amendments to the Disaster Management Act address persons unwilling to join resettlement programmes or continuing to live in high-risk houses. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Asked the Minister of Defence to provide details on landslide-risk areas in the Kandy District following rainy conditions since January 2024, including locations with settlements and public property. He requested a breakdown of vulnerable occupied houses and immovable properties by Divisional Secretary’s Division and Grama Niladhari Division, and asked what alternative measures would be taken for affected residents. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka AI summary Anura Kumara Dissanayaka provided details of identified landslide-risk areas in the Badulla District, stating that 241 families or locations had been identified across several Divisional Secretariat divisions. He outlined existing resettlement assistance, including grants for land purchase, land with a house, or house construction, and said a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared to increase these amounts due to current market prices. He also noted temporary rental assistance for affected families, evacuation arrangements during heavy rainfall based on National Building Research Organization warnings, and proposed amendments to the Disaster Management Act concerning persons unwilling to resettle from high-risk areas. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Rauff Hakeem asked the Minister of Defence to provide details on landslide-risk areas in the Badulla District following heavy rains since January 2024. He sought identification of affected settlements and public properties, a breakdown of occupied vulnerable houses and immovable properties by Divisional Secretariat and Grama Niladhari Division, and the alternative measures planned for residents in those houses. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka AI summary Anura Kumara Dissanayaka provided details of landslide-risk areas in the Kegalle District, listing 241 identified risk locations or families across several Divisional Secretariat areas. He outlined the existing resettlement assistance amounts and said a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared to increase grants for land purchase, land-with-house purchase, and house construction due to current market costs. He also noted temporary measures, including rental allowances, interim housing arrangements, evacuations during heavy rainfall based on NBRO warnings, and proposed amendments to the Disaster Management Act for persons unwilling to resettle from high-risk areas. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Hon. Rauff Hakeem asked the Minister of Defence for details on landslide-risk areas in the Kegalle District following rainy conditions since January 2024. He sought information on affected settlements and public properties, a divisional breakdown of vulnerable occupied houses and immovable properties, and the alternative measures planned for residents living in those locations. Answers to Written Questions: Landslide Risk Areas Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Bhagya Sri Herath, Attorney-at-Law JJB AI summary Bhagya Sri Herath supported the motion seeking parliamentary and public backing for the Clean Sri Lanka programme, arguing that the Opposition had mischaracterized it as unclear despite its objectives being set out in the Gazette. He described the programme as a broad social, political, environmental and ethical transformation aimed at changing public attitudes and behaviour, rather than a narrowly timed project limited to activities such as bus regulation or waste collection. He maintained that the programme aligns with Government policy and does not conflict with the Constitution or other laws, urging critics to engage with its stated framework before raising objections. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Chathura Galappaththi SJB AI summary Hon. Chathura Galappaththi said he supported the objectives of the Clean Sri Lanka programme but questioned the absence of a concrete implementation plan, follow-up mechanisms, and clear operational targets. He proposed practical measures such as sustained monitoring of illegal dumping points using school environmental brigades, scouts, and environmental police, and argued that implementation should rely on existing local authority structures rather than new ad hoc village committees. Citing Singapore’s Green Plan and India’s Swachh Bharat Mission, he said successful cleanliness programmes require structured plans, targets, and statutory grounding. He also raised concerns about the local government electoral system, supported a return to proportional representation, and urged action on the cost-of-living and rice supply issues, including reviving a low-cost mechanized rice storage system piloted in 2012. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs JJB AI summary The Minister defended the Government’s Clean Sri Lanka programme as a broad social, ethical, environmental, economic and political transformation, rather than a limited clean-up or road safety initiative, and said it has a plan, vision and roadmap with public participation. He argued that the Government inherited bankruptcy, social breakdown and crime, and said the Police have been depoliticized and are acting under the rule of law to address corruption, organized crime and road safety. He cited recent reductions in daily road accident deaths, the high public health burden of accidents, and arrests linked to organized crime, including members of the Armed Forces, Police and Civil Security Department, as evidence of ongoing enforcement efforts. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Suranga Rathnayaka SJB AI summary The Hon. Suranga Rathnayaka said the Clean Sri Lanka programme, launched by the President on 1 January, had not been adequately explained to the public, Cabinet, Government MPs, or implementing agencies, leading to confusion over its scope. He urged the Government to improve communication and public awareness, and to focus on practical infrastructure needs including waste collection and disposal, waste-to-energy options, tourist sanitary facilities, and sanitation in remote villages and schools. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment JJB AI summary Minister Dammika Patabendi said Clean Sri Lanka is a central NPP Government programme built on environmental, social and ethical development, not merely a sanitation or environmental campaign. He outlined plans for safer roads, public sanitation, food safety, disability-friendly cities, low-noise zones, anti-corruption enforcement, behavioural change, and ecological restoration, implemented through a Presidential Task Force and State administrative structures down to village level. He argued that the programme reflects the public mandate received at the recent elections and is intended to mobilize the State, civil society, volunteers and citizens toward social reform and environmental protection. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. Chithral Fernando, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Hon. Chithral Fernando said criticism of the Clean Sri Lanka programme should be treated as constructive and not as hostility to the country. He argued that while the programme’s name or inspiration is not important, its implementation lacks clarity, particularly regarding timelines, coordination, and the role and remuneration of Task Force members described as volunteers. He called for accountability over any public expenditure, clearer planning, and consistency in Government messaging. He also urged the Government to apply the programme’s stated goal of changing political culture within its own ranks, citing the former Speaker’s issue as an example. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →
- 21 January 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Nandana Millagala JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Nandana Millagala defended the Government’s Clean Sri Lanka National Programme, arguing that it is intended to address the hardships of disadvantaged communities and is based on prior planning, situational analysis, and the vision of “A Beautiful Island – A Happy People.” He rejected Opposition claims that the programme lacks purpose or financing, stating that detailed funding arrangements will follow through Budget allocations and donations. He said the programme will proceed on social, ethical, and environmental pillars and invited wider participation in implementing related national and civil initiatives. Adjournment Debate: Clean Sri Lanka Programme Read →