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Indian vehicle imports to be expedited

By Shelani Perera
The Government is to request the Indian High Commission to expedite the import of vehicles for parliamentarians under the Indian Credit Line.

The request has been made as usually purchases under a line of credit take a longer period as many procedures have to be followed. Since the vehicles are being given under a loan scheme, before issuing the Letter of Credit the bank (Bank of Ceylon) has to communicate with the Indian High Commission which has to then communicate with the Indian Finance and Commerce Ministry which would report back to the Bank of Ceylon, after which the LC will be issued. A Parliamentary Affairs Ministry official told The Sunday Times they have requested the principal Indian manufacturer to commence production even before the LC is issued.

"Three types of vehicles are to be imported for the use of Parliamentarians. They are Tata Safari, Scorpio and Maruti. We will import more than 50% of Tata Safari and 40% of Scorpio. We want the vehicles to be brought within the next two months, whereas under the normal procedure it would take more than four months" the official said.

Under the Indian Credit Line the Government can import Indian capital goods, consumer durables, wheat flour, sugar, rice, grain and red lentils. Consultancy services are also available.

The credit line amounting to 100 million US dollars is for 15 years, to be paid in 20 instalments, with a 5 year grace period. Although there is no restriction by the Indian government as to the goods purchased, all items must be of 90% Indian origin, at least. Meanwhile of the 225 Parliamentarians only 13 MPs have refused the vehicles. Among those who have refused are Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Karu Jayasuriya, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Arumugan Thondaman and 9 JVP members. Ministers Milinda Moragoda and K.N. Choksy have opted for Maruti vehicles.

Apart from the vehicle bonanza parliamentarians who have completed five years are eligible for fax machines, photocopiers and computers. All three items at valued at Rs. 295,000.

Thirteen MPs are entitled to computers, 60 for photocopiers and 61 for fax machines.

Call for House renovations

Speaker Joseph Michael Perera agreed on Friday to appoint a committee to look into an appeal by Parliamentary Affairs Minister A.H.M.Azwer for renovations to the Parliament building .

Minister Azwer told Parliament on Friday that some of the lifts in the building were not working properly and the carpeting had got discoloured and needed to be replaced.

Last week another government legislator Sarathchandra Rajakaruna called on the Speaker to inquire and report to the House on the sound system that has been installed in the chamber at great expense which is proving to be unsatisfactory.

It is more than 20 years since the legislature was shifted to Sri Jayawardhanapura.

Last week's power failure during sessions also prompted several members to request the Speaker to inquire into what had caused the disruption and inform the House as valuable time had been lost with sittings being suspended for more than 40 minutes.

Request to settle Sinhala displaced in North and East

The Eastern Sinhala Organisation, consisting of Buddhist monks handed over a petition to President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Thursday requesting her to assist in resettling displaced Sinhala people in the North and East.

The petition was also addressed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In a letter to the President the Organisation states that the government should take immediate steps to resettle the civilians with due compensation.

Giving a break- down of the number of displaced civilians, the petition states the government has neglected the Sinhala people.

It states 36,519 civilians have been displaced from Jaffna district, 5921 from Mullaitivu, 13,002 from Mannar, 11,643 from Vavuniya, 51,699 from Trincomalee and 17,903 from Batticaloa.

It has also stated that the Government has neglected places of religious worship in the North and East with 21 out of the 273 temples in Jaffna district needing urgent attention.

 


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