News

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved contracts worth approximately Rs. 3.33 billion, excluding VAT, to rehabilitate and upgrade several road sections damaged by Cyclone Ditwah.

The contractors were selected through the National Competitive Bidding procedure, following an evaluation of the bids received.

The Cabinet approved proposals submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to award the contracts to the substantially responsive lowest bidders, based on recommendations from the High-Level Procurement Committees.

The three approved contracts cover the following road sections:

1. Gampola–Nawalapitiya, Ulapane–Pussellawa and Atabage–Ulapane roads

The first contract covers rehabilitation and improvement work on three road sections:

• Gampola–Nawalapitiya Road (AB013), from kilometre 8+500 to 16+300.

• Ulapane–Pussellawa Road (B431), from kilometre 0+000 to 6+440.

• Atabage–Ulapane Road (B490), from kilometre 0+000 to 7+500.

The contract has been valued at Rs. 852.83 million, excluding VAT.

2. Wattegama–Kande Nuwara–Wariyapola Road

The second contract involves the rehabilitation and improvement of a 16.77-kilometre section of the Wattegama–Kande Nuwara–Wariyapola Road (B461), extending from kilometre 11+000 to 27+700.

It also includes improvements to drainage capacity along the section from kilometre 27+700 to 30+800, as well as construction work involving retaining walls.

The contract value is Rs. 1,516.08 million, excluding VAT.

3. Katugastota–Madawala–Bambarella and Wattegama–Kande Nuwara–Wariyapola roads

The third contract covers repairs to damaged locations and areas affected by slope failures along two roads.

These include a 15-kilometre section of the Katugastota–Madawala–Bambarella Road (B205), between kilometre 19 and kilometre 34, and a four-kilometre section of the Wattegama–Kande Nuwara–Wariyapola Road (B461), between kilometre 1 and kilometre 5.

The contract has been valued at Rs. 965.37 million, excluding VAT.

The combined value of the three contracts approved by the Cabinet is approximately Rs. 3.33 billion, excluding VAT.

Sri Lanka's parliamentary opposition has accused the government of undermining democratic governance by blocking a debate on a motion of no-confidence against the Speaker.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa issued a special statement in Colombo condemning the decision of the Committee on Parliamentary Business to dismiss the resolution without allowing floor time.

He noted that although a formal privilege motion will be submitted regarding constitutional violations, legislative supremacy, and the chair's partiality, there is little expectation that parliamentary authorities will allow the matter to be heard.

Restrictions on legislative speech

The Opposition Leader said that constitutional guarantees securing freedom of expression within the house have been systematically undermined by the governing coalition.

He noted that under Article 3 of the Constitution, national sovereignty resides with the public, while Article 4b dictates that legislative power must be exercised exclusively through elected representatives.

Parliament remains a constitutional mechanism designed to execute popular sovereignty rather than an instrument governed by the political preferences of any single party. Article 74 grants the assembly explicit power to establish standing orders, providing a binding legal framework intended to safeguard collective legislative authority, he said.

Impartiality of the chair

The Opposition Leader Pointed out that the office of the Speaker represents a constitutional role created to preserve the dignity, authority, and democratic function of the entire legislature rather than advance party agendas.

Drawing on Westminster traditions, absolute political neutrality remains the defining obligation of the chair, who must guarantee equitable floor time for members across the chamber.

Authentic parliamentary democracy requires protecting the right of minority and opposition groups to scrutinise executive actions, express alternative opinions, and challenge government policies.

Rejection of no-confidence motion

Suppressing legitimate parliamentary actions through majority power violates the foundational principles of representative democracy, the Opposition Leader noted.

He said that a resolution detailing 50 specific charges against the Speaker, bearing the signatures of 44 opposition members, was formally submitted to the Secretary-General of Parliament on 9 October and placed on the order paper on 12 October.

He also said the subsequent decision by the Committee on Parliamentary Business to reject the item prevented any debate, effectively insulating the head of the assembly from answering public allegations.

Breach of parliamentary privilege

The refusal to allow a floor debate raises fundamental questions over the independence of the legislature, the neutrality of the chair, and the constitutional protections afforded to lawmakers, he said.

Standing orders and constitutional provisions impose a clear duty on presiding officers to maintain established procedures without creating artificial barriers to speech.

A formal investigation must now determine whether suppressing the resolution constitutes a direct breach of parliamentary privileges guaranteed to elected representatives, he added.

In a decisive push against environmental degradation, Sri Lanka’s apex court has intervened to overhaul the regulation of single-use polythene.

The Supreme Court has directed state authorities to submit a detailed progress report by 5 March next year on establishing a statutory framework to impose and administer a government levy on single-use plastic and polythene bags.

The directive follows a Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice, which brought the matter to the bench comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justice Achala Wengappuli, and Justice Gihan Kulatunga.

Senior Counsel Ravindranath Dabare, representing the public interest organisation, informed the court that supermarket chains currently collect surcharges on polythene bags directly into their corporate revenue accounts.

He said that these private collections fail to support ecological conservation or curb plastic consumption.

In response, the Attorney General assured the bench that relevant state bodies are actively formulating a national state-managed levy structure.

The petitioners have urged the judiciary to order the immediate creation of a dedicated public environmental fund to absorb all proceeds generated by the proposed levy.

Under the scheme sought by the petitioners, these funds would be strictly channeled into waste management infrastructure, recycling programmes, and the enforcement of the internationally recognised "polluter pays" principle.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has pleaded not guilty to charges brought against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

He entered the plea before the Colombo High Court today (03), after the charges were formally read out to him in open court.

The case will proceed through the Colombo High Court in accordance with the relevant legal proceedings.

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the release on bail of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and MP Namal Rajapaksa, who was remanded in connection with the controversial Krrish deal.

At an earlier hearing, lawyers representing Rajapaksa requested bail, citing the serious health conditions of both his parents as an exceptional circumstance warranting his release.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), however, objected to the application.

After considering submissions from both sides, Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the bail order today.

Rajapaksa was arrested by the Bribery Commission on September 4 and produced before the court. He was subsequently remanded over allegations that he had accepted a bribe of Rs. 70 million to facilitate the allocation of land at Transworks Square in Colombo to Indian company Krrish for a multi-purpose development project.

Despite being granted bail in the Krrish deal case, Rajapaksa will remain in remand custody in connection with a separate case relating to the Airbus bribery scandal.

Former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. W.A. Wijewardena has urged the Sri Lankan government to moderate its revenue collection targets in the upcoming 2027 Budget, saying that excessive taxation combined with deteriorating public services is eroding public trust and economic productivity.

Delivering the 28th Annual Tax Oration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka in Colombo, the veteran economist warned that the state's aggressive fiscal consolidation measures had become counterproductive for the country.

The former central banker pointed out that government revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product had climbed rapidly from 12.3 per cent in 2021 to surpass the International Monetary Fund's 15 per cent target.

He explained that while official fiscal targets were met ahead of schedule, the underlying extraction of capital from households and businesses was suppressing private consumption and essential investment.

According to the top economist, a series of policy adjustments, including lowering the personal income tax threshold to Rs.100,000 before settling at Rs.150,000, expanding the maximum marginal tax rate to 36 per cent, enforcing mandatory Taxpayer Identification Numbers for all adults, and raising Value Added Tax to 18 per cent while lowering registration thresholds to Rs.36 million, had pulled smaller enterprises into a complex compliance framework.

He highlighted that indirect levies on essential goods created a regressive burden that hit lower income earners disproportionately hard, compounding the double pressure of direct taxation and inflation.

Dr. Wijewardena also criticised the structure of IMF prescriptions, asserting that relying primarily on revenue expansion while ignoring expenditure reform prioritises creditor repayments over taxpayer welfare.

He noted that although the government achieved a primary budget surplus of nearly 4 per cent against an IMF target of 1.5 per cent in 2025, it did so by failing to spend a quarter of its allocated capital expenditure budget.

Capital spending execution remained similarly sluggish into 2026, with only 28 per cent of the annual allocation deployed by the end of September.

He stressed that suppressing public investment directly weakens long-term national economic growth, creating a systemic cycle of fiscal decline.

Pointing to severe delays at police stations, overcrowded hospital wards, and widespread reliance on private tuition, he said that the fundamental social contract between the state and its citizens had been broken, further worsened by technical failures in tax filing systems like the Inland Revenue Department's digital infrastructure.

A fire has broken out in a room at a girls’ hostel at the University of Kelaniya this morning (03), reportedly destroying all the belongings of the students staying in the affected room.

No students were inside the room when the fire started, and no injuries have been reported.

Fire engines have been dispatched to the scene to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

A multi-billion rupee Chinese grant for emergency bridge reconstruction has exposed Sri Lanka's chronic dependence on foreign aid and critical gaps in national disaster preparedness.

Work officially commenced on 1 November near the Yakkala Seventh Bridge in Gampaha for the first phase of the China Government Emergency Assistance Project, which will see nine disaster-damaged bridges rebuilt across six districts.

Attended by Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake, Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, and Chinese Ambassador Wei Huaxiang, the launch marks the initial step in a two-phase scheme targeting 14 vital crossings island-wide.

The initial phase is backed by a 79 million Chinese yuan grant, equivalent to approximately Rs. 3.93 billion, jointly managed by the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, and the Road Development Authority.

Operations began with the Bemmulla Bridge on the Aluthgama to Wigoda Road, spanning damaged sites across Gampaha, Kegalle, Ampara, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, and Batticaloa districts.

While the bilateral assistance addresses immediate structural failures that sever rural transport routes and isolate communities, it leaves broader policy vulnerabilities unaddressed.

Questions remain over whether the chosen sites stem from a systematic national risk assessment or merely fixed bilateral selections.

Furthermore, authorities have yet to release critical project parameters, including individual financial allocations, completion timelines, and independent engineering standards designed to withstand future climate shocks.

Without transparent project data and a comprehensive national inventory of vulnerable assets, recurring environmental disasters will continue to trigger costly emergency interventions.

A proposal calling for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to conduct a comprehensive study into the 1983 Black July tragedy and its impact has been submitted to Parliament.

The proposal was presented by National People's Power (NPP) MP Thanura Dissanayake and seconded by fellow NPP MP Bhagya Sri Herath.

The proposed committee is expected to examine the events surrounding Black July and submit its findings to Parliament, together with proposals and recommendations aimed at promoting national reconciliation and providing relief to those affected by the tragedy.

A widespread LP gas shortage has plunged low and middle income Sri Lankan households into fresh operational distress, prompting severe criticism from the main parliamentary Opposition over state inaction.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva publicly challenged the government over its handling of the crisis, highlighting the compounding financial burden placed on families already battling elevated prices for staple items including bread, wheat flour, and fuel.

Addressing the persistent failure to resolve distribution bottlenecks, the former minister pointed out that reliance on commercial food delivery applications is a luxury out of reach for ordinary citizens reliant on domestic cooking.

He noted that while state-backed Litro cylinder distribution remains accessible to a segment of consumers, private distributor Laugfs Gas continues to face severe operational paralysis.

The logistical shortfall has been further complicated by international regulatory scrutiny, including reported United States trade sanctions targeted at a Dubai-registered subsidiary of Laugfs over alleged transactions tied to Iranian petroleum products.

The Opposition representative noted that the government possesses the administrative capacity to clear such straightforward supply impediments quickly, taking a side swipe at the ruling Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna by saying they would have mobilised street demonstrations over the identical grievance had they remained on the Opposition benches.

The Colombo High Court has ordered the removal of Daisy Forrest, the grandmother of Yoshitha Rajapaksa, from the money laundering case filed against both of them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The order was issued after the court considered submissions indicating that Forrest was not in a mental condition suitable to stand trial.

Accordingly, the court ordered that she be released from the proceedings in the case.

The case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa will continue separately.

Reports that new solar power applications have been suspended have brought the government's renewable energy policy under sharp scrutiny.

The United National Party (UNP) working committee member Dinouk Colombage raised the issue after the Royal Colombo Golf Club informed its membership on 01 November that its planned rooftop solar initiative had been halted on state instructions.

This development occurred following management attempts to carry out pre-approved roof refurbishments and solar installations.

Colombage questioned if the administration was abandoning the target to generate 70 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, a goal established under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He stressed that private sector investment remains vital for expanding green capacity across the island.

Grid capacity limits

The National System Operator revealed that Sri Lanka's installed solar capacity exceeded 3,070 megawatts by September 2026, including over 2,542 megawatts of rooftop installations.

It noted that solar power currently generates between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of daily electricity needs based on weather conditions.

The operator explained that rooftop solar additions planned for 2026 were surpassed ahead of schedule, necessitating temporary monitoring of approvals to prevent national grid instability.

It confirmed that applications under the Net Plus scheme would proceed while zero export connections remain exempt from restrictions. These developments follow September directives from the

Ministry of Energy that discontinued Net Metering and Net Accounting for new rooftop setups, transitioning all new agreements strictly to Net Plus.

Industry concerns over investment targets

Industry leaders warned that abandoning previous rooftop solar frameworks risks discouraging prospective investors, disrupting business operations, and threatening employment.

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority said that integrating roughly 600 megawatts of fresh solar capacity annually is essential to achieve the national 2030 target.

Meeting these objectives requires parallel investments in battery energy storage alongside grid infrastructure modernisations.

Confusion surrounding the Royal Colombo Golf Club suspension underlines growing demands for policy transparency from energy authorities.

Stakeholders say that official clarity is needed to determine whether recent delays reflect deliberate investment curbs or a misinterpretation of existing rules.