The Treasury has allocated more than Rs 300 million in February and March as supplementary allocations to various ministries including Rs 69 million to counter LTTE propaganda in the United States, according to documents presented to Parliament last week.
The Rs 69 million supplementary allocation was made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in mid-February to build a positive image of Sri Lanka by implementing a broad publicity programme to counter the false propaganda campaign and fund raising activities by the LTTE in the US, the documents said.
Supplementary allocations amounting to Rs 15 million were also made to buy official vehicles for the Attorney General and secretaries of two ministries. The Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services and the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management got Rs. 5.5 million each to buy motor vehicles for their secretaries as no such allocation was made for 2009 for either of them.
The other supplementary allocation is for the Ministry of Housing and Common Amenities. This allocation of Rs 144.4 million is for the implementation of a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to move out excess employees at the Condominium Management Authority.
The Ministry of Public Estates Management and Development was allocated Rs 60 million to settle the arrears of EPF and ETF payments to the employees of the Sri Lanka Plantations Corporation. About Rs 4.5 million was allocated to the Ministry of Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services to pay the salaries of Building Materials Corporation employees for February 2009. An allocation of Rs 3.8 million was also made to the President to pay compensation for the family members of the late M.K. Ranjith, former minister of the Southern Provincial Council.
Supplementary estimates are moved to cover expenses over and above budgeted provisions incurred during the financial year. The latest allocations come less than six months after the government presented its Budget to Parliament last November.
The money has been allocated under the budgetary support services and contingency liabilities project of the Department of National Budget.
Last year too Parliament approved several supplementary estimates including one for over Rs. 2800 million to finance the SAARC Summit in Colombo, Rs. 441 million for the Department of Examinations and Rs 11,000 million for the fertilizer subsidy. |
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