No ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund established yet?

2026-02-25 - 04:27

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) – Dr. Harsha de Silva has stated that authorities should either abandon the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund or establish it without further delay. He made these remarks during a recent meeting of the committee held in Parliament. Responding to questions raised by the Chairman regarding the Fund, officials from the Ministry of Finance informed the committee that an official account for the fund has not yet been established, and that assistance funds are currently being received into an existing account created for that purpose. “They kept saying it would be done. It should not take 2 1/2 to 03 months to establish a fund. Either drop that term or create the fund,” the Chairman said in response. It was also revealed at the committee meeting that 1,359 families displaced by Cyclone Dithwah are still residing in 49 relief centres. Meanwhile, Rs. 25,000 allowance for cleaning houses affected by the disaster have been granted to 426,063 families, with a total expenditure of Rs. 10,674 million. In addition, Rs. 50,000 housing restoration allowance has been provided to 144,377 families, amounting to Rs. 7,218 million in expenditure. A sum of Rs. 15,000 each has also been granted to 159,271 students affected by the cyclone, with a total expenditure of Rs. 2,389 million. Furthermore, Rs. 165 million has been spent to support 2,763 families who are currently living in rented houses following the disaster. (Source: Aruna)