02. National Policy on Sanitation (Document No – 07)
Above policy was presented to the cabinet before and it was recompiled considering the observations made by relevant parties as well as Ministers of Finance, Megapolis and Western Development, and Education, and the National Steering Committee appointed to improve its content. The policy presented by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
03. Preventing obesity among schoolchildren (Document No – 08)
About 59% of deaths in Sri Lanka are caused by non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases, diabetics, high blood pressure and cancers and majority of deceased are under the age of 60 years. As less physical activities are a main cause for these diseases, the proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to implement a programme under the recommendations of the Ministry of Education for increasing physical activities among school children and to provide opportunities for school children to consume more healthy meals, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
04. National policy and strategic plan for prevention and management of accidents in Sri Lanka (Document No – 09)
Around a million people are hospitalized annually due to accidents and a considerable portion of allocations are spent for them. Most of the accidents are reported as road accidents and majority who die from road accidents are between 15 to 44 years of age. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to accept the above policy and to obtain necessary political and institutional cooperation for its implementation, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
05. Obtaining additional allocations for increasing the annual aid of Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10000 for artistes with financial needs (Document No – 12)
According to the decision made by Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting held on 06 December 2016 it has been decided to increase the amount of the aid to Rs. 10,000/- from year 2017 and to increase the number of beneficiaries to 5,000. Above proposal made by Hon. S.B. Navinna, Minister of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
06. Providing more space for the activities of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Document No – 16)
The resources of the Fisheries Department are insufficient to discharging duties assigned to it recently. Change in organization structure and cadre should be done and there is a requirement for a new building. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, to develop the proposed new building as a four storied building with a space of 432 square metres and to obtain relevant allocations through budget estimates of 2018, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
07. Implementation of a joint project by Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka and Lal Teer Seed Limited of Bangladesh for increasing improved vegetable seeds production in Sri Lanka (Document No – 18)
Although several institutions in the country are producing vegetable seeds a large portion of the requirement is imported. Above project is planned to be implemented as a solution in the premises of Field Crops Research and Development Institute, Mahailluppallama. The funds are provided by the said institute and Department of Agriculture should provide the land. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, Minister of Agriculture, to sign the MoU, implement the proposed project and to authorize the Director General of Agriculture to sign the MoU, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
08. Improvement of the Seed Conservation Unit of the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa (Document No – 19)
Above centre was established in 1989 with Japanese aid and currently it conserves about 14500 seed samples. It provides conserved seeds for researchers and who are engaged in traditional agriculture. It is comprised of a Conservation Unit with 16 rooms and, the proposal made by Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, Minister of Agriculture, to obtain allocations for improvement of the technology of its cooling system to suit the current technology, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
09. Construction of a dedicated economic centre in Eastern Province and obtaining consultation services (Document No – 22)
Allocations of Rs. 300 million have been allocated by budget 2017 on the above purpose and a state land of 02 acres and 03 roods has been identified at Kaluwanchikudy - Manmunai South D Divisional Secretary's Division. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. P. Harrison, Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, to transfer the said land to the Ministry of Rural Economic Affairs, and to award the contract to Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau which has a good experience by constructing 10 economic centres in the country, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
10. Strengthening the capital of People's Bank from Rs. 05 billion (Document No – 23)
The People's Bank was established about 55 years ago and its present assets are amounted to Rs. 1.4 trillion and ranked 387 in Asia and the second largest bank in Sri Lanka. It has 737 service centres and about 18 million accounts are handled by the bank. According to Basel III standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, considering regulations, supervision and risks in banking field, the proposal made by Hon. Kabir Hashim, Minister of Public Enterprise Development, to increase the capital of People's Bank with more Rs. 05 billion, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
11. Improvement of Sugathadasa National Stadium Complex (Document No – 31, 32 and 33)
Above stadium complex was constructed about 25 years ago and several steps have been taken to improve the complex. Accordingly, the following proposals made by Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Minister of Sports, were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Installing a solar power system
Renovation of wires and other accessories of flood light towers of the stadium.
Renovation of lighting system and sound system of the main stadium.
12. MoU between Sri Lankan Presidential Task Force for Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization on researches and studies regarding Chronic Kidney Disease with unknown etiology (Document No – 40)
CKD is prevailing in 60 Divisional Secretary's Divisions in 11 districts and the above MoU was signed during the official visit of H.E. the President in Australia from 24-26th May. The information was noted by the Cabinet of Ministers.
13. Disposal of waste dumped in various places due to recent disaster situation (Document No – 41)
Many lives and properties were damaged due to recent floods and landslides and waste have been dumped in these areas. They should be removed with immediate effect. As available vehicles and equipment in local government agencies are inadequate in this purpose, the joint proposal made by Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management, and Hon. Faizer Mustafa, Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, to provide additional funds of Rs. 100 million for purchasing of required vehicles and equipment to the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
14. Establishment of a Sinhala Language Teaching Cell at Jawaharlal Nehru University (Document No – 42)
The proposal made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to hold discussions with the Government of India for establishing a Sinhala language Teaching Cell at School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University for providing an opportunity for interested students in SAARC countries to study Sinhalese language, literature and Sri Lankan culture, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
15. Construction of a Buddhist Dagoba at New Delhi (Document No – 43)
The present Buddhist temple in New Delhi is administrated by Mahabodhi Society and it is in a limited space. As there is no dagoba and ample space for Buddhist pilgrims to perform their rituals and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss with Indian authorities to obtain an adequate land to build a Buddhist dagoba in New Delhi, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
16. Present situation in Gulf region (Document No – 44)
The information presented by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the present status due to cutting of diplomatic relations with Qatar by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen, was noted by the Cabinet of Ministers.
17. Establishment of a Sri Lankan Cultural Centre in New Delhi (Document No – 45)
It has been proposed to establish the above cultural centre with the view of promoting the Sri Lankan unique culture and for holding cultural events in India. The proposal made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss with Indian authorities to obtain an adequate land to implement this proposal, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
