News
Rs. 1,000 bn emergency funding for relief work
View(s):- Speaker convenes special parliament sittings on Thursday for Govt. to seek funds via supplementary estimate;
prorogation follows passage
By Damith Wickremasekara
The government will present a supplementary estimate of Rs.1000 billion to Parliament when an emergency sitting of the House is held on Thursday, December 18.
The special sitting of the House has been summoned by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne at the request of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya under Standing Orders of Parliament to seek approval for the emergency funding needed for the relief work related to cyclone Ditwah.
The relevant gazette was issued yesterday.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament on December 5 that the government request would be for a supplementary estimate of Rs. 500 billion, but this amount has been doubled after new estimates of the welfare payments as well as urgent repair work costs were calculated, a senior government source said.
The supplementary estimate will be debated in Parliament on Thursday, Dec 18, and put to a vote on the 19th, following which the House is to be prorogued till January 6, 2026.
The supplementary estimate is to cover the 2026/2027 budgetary year, with some of the infrastructure work likely to stretch into 2027, the source said. The immediate funding needs are to provide dry-ration allowances and housing allowances, conduct land surveys for relocation of displaced persons, and carry out other relief and recovery work.
The President will tomorrow hold a special National Council for Disaster Management meeting, for which Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and all political party representatives have been invited.
The Council was established under the Disaster Management Act No. 13 of 2005, following the 2004 tsunami, but has remained largely inactive. Government sources said that some amendments were needed to this law and this would be discussed at the council meeting.
The President serves as the chair of the Council, while its ex-officio members include the Prime Minister (Vice Chair), the Leader of the Opposition, relevant subject ministers, chief ministers of provinces (or governors in their absence) and five members of Parliament or experts appointed by Parliament.
The council last met in August 2025, where, in light of prevailing climate-related challenges, it discussed the need to enhance disaster management mechanisms and concluded that the existing legislation must be amended to reflect contemporary needs and emerging risks.
Less than five months later, Cyclone Ditwah hit the country and caught the authorities in a state of unpreparedness.
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