Hon. R.G. Wijerathna

## Summary The speaker, Mrs. Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, briefly redirected a Deputy Minister away from references to previous governments, noting that the current administration has had one year and four months in office — sufficient time to have made 4,000 appointments in question. She then yielded the floor to Hon. Dilip Wedaarachchi for a second supplementary question.

The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna directed a follow-up question to the Deputy Minister, pressing for a direct answer to her previously unanswered query regarding whether specific payments would be made to a particular group. The speaker indicated that her initial question had not been adequately addressed and sought a clear response from the Deputy Minister.

The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna raises concerns about the working conditions and responsibilities of Agricultural Research and Production Assistants, noting that financial duties such as acreage tax collection, loan recovery, and fertilizer subsidy distribution are being improperly transferred to farmer organizations without clear accountability. She highlights the spread of invasive plant species, including *Mimosa pigra* and an unidentified aquatic plant in tanks, for which no budget allocations have been made for removal despite a recent survey. The speaker also draws attention to media reports that these officers may be removed from supervisory roles, and that allowances are not being paid when they supervise more than two ranges, prompting threatened industrial action. She demands that the Ministry present a work plan to address staff vacancies, unpaid allowances, and the resulting burden on farmers.

Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna raised concerns about the shortage of Agrarian Research and Production Assistants (ARPAs), highlighting that their heavy workload is causing delays in the disbursement of fertilizer subsidies to farmers during the ongoing Maha harvesting season. She noted that data entry for the subsidy system, which is the responsibility of ARPAs, is being hampered by insufficient officer numbers. She further pointed out that this shortage also hindered the timely collection of information during a recent cyclone.

## Summary Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna submitted Written Question No. 913/2025 to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation seeking comprehensive information about Agricultural Research and Production Assistants (ARPAs) deployed at the Grama Niladhari Division level across Sri Lanka. The question requests details on their deployment numbers by district, departmental affiliation, supervisory structure, official duties, and assigned research activities. Additionally, the member seeks information on whether performance reviews are conducted for ARPAs, the agricultural progress achieved through their work in recent years, and whether steps will be taken to deploy them in regular field inspections to address sector-level issues.

Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna moved for leave to introduce the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce (Amendment) Bill, seeking to amend the existing principal enactment. The stated purpose of the amendment is to address discriminatory provisions under Sections 32(a) and (b) of the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act, which she contends treat women unequally. The Bill aims to remove this differential treatment of women under the said sections.

Hon. R.G. Wijerathna spoke in support of extending Emergency Regulations in the context of damage caused by the Ditva disaster, citing specific figures from his Nuwara Eliya District, including destruction to 245 irrigation canals, 89 weirs, nine small tanks, and approximately 280 km of roads. He outlined relief already disbursed nationally and within the district, including payments totalling over Rs. 3.9 billion in allowances and Rs. 2.12 billion in agricultural compensation to over 50,000 farmers. He argued that permanent rehabilitation requires cross-agency coordination — including NBRO guidance, engineering design, and continued armed forces involvement — that is facilitated by the Emergency's powers vested in the Commissioner-General of Essential Services. On this basis, he appealed for unanimous support for a time-limited extension of the Emergency.