Gota, Shiranthi & ex-AG urged to allocate ‘Sirisanda Sevana’ units to political aides?

2026-03-20 - 11:14

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday (March 19) that 22 housing units under the “Sirisanda Sevana” housing scheme in Bloemendhal had allegedly been allocated to political aides on the request of former Defence Secretary and President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa – Shiranthi Rajapaksa, and a former Attorney General. These submissions were made before Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama while producing a suspect, Brigadier (Retd.) Ranjith Samarasinghe, who had served as Director of the Urban Regeneration Programme of the “Sirisanda Sevana” Housing Scheme. He had been arrested and produced before the court on corruption charges for ensuring unlawful benefits to others while incurring an alleged financial loss to the State. The “Sirisanda Sevana” housing scheme has been constructed by the National Housing Development Authority, which provides houses for Colombo Bloemendal Estate residents as well as low-income and underprivileged people in Colombo. CIABOC stated that out of 366 housing units, 22 units had been irregularly allocated. A document was also submitted to court listing recipients, including a beauty therapist and hairdresser associated with Shiranthi Rajapaksa, a personal secretary to the former President, 02 domestic aides and other staff attached to the Presidential residence – a clerk and a labourer, a naval officer, a former newspaper editor, an employee attached to the residence of the General Manager of Railways, a district coordinator to the Presidential Secretariat, a domestic worker attached to the Sri Lankan embassy in Singapore, and an office assistant of the Presidential Secretariat. The CIABOC further stated that the housing complex was constructed at a cost exceeding Rs. 390 million and these units have been allocated in 2014. During proceedings, the Magistrate inquired whether the recipients were currently residing in the allocated units. CIABOC informed the court that 04 units remain unoccupied, while several others have been rented out. It was also noted that the recipient based in Singapore had obtained a unit without returning to Sri Lanka. CIABOC highlighted that the eligibility criteria required beneficiaries to prove residence in the relevant estate for at least 05 years, supported by water and electricity bills. However, the suspect had allegedly allocated units to individuals who did not meet these requirements. Appearing for the suspect, the counsel argued that if allocations had been made during an election period on the requests of the aforementioned individuals, the National Housing Development Authority had the authority to revoke such allocations, and questioned the practicality of CIABOC’s actions in this regard.