Does the Ministry of Agriculture have too much money?

This building has been rented in 2016 for a monthly rent of 24.7 million rupees.

Although the Ministry of Agriculture was not relocated to the new building even by the end of 2017, millions of rupees have been paid by the ministry. Not only that, electricity bills have also been paid without using the building. In last November, chief organizer of the ruling party Gayantha Karunathilake said that approximately 50 million rupees have been paid for a period of 3 months. 13.9 million rupees have been paid for electricity bills of 13 months.

When the ministry was located at its previous location at Battaramulla Govijana Sewa Mandiraya, all sections of the ministry were located in the same building, making it convenient for general public.

However, after it was decided to relocate the ministry, subsequently, it was decided to relocate Hadabima Authority and Agricultural Consultancy Council as well. Currently these two institutions spend Rs. 1,350,000 for monthly rent and so far, its expenses have exceeded 20 million rupees. General public seeking to obtain services from the ministry have to travel to various locations in Colombo and people’s money is being unnecessarily spent for these buildings.

Ministry of Agriculture, which was previously handled by SLFP general secretary, has now been handed over to the UPFA general secretary. Minister Mahinda Amarweera said that the ministry will be relocated to the previous venue. However, it has not been carried out yet.

Sumudu Chamara