Following are the decisions taken at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on July 1.
Procurement of food for the Department of prisons
Although the contract to procure food items for the Department of Prisons for the year 2019/2020 is to end on July 31, the procurement process for selection of suppliers could not be undertaken due to the lockdown in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal furnished by the Justice, Human Rights and Legal Reformation Minister to award the contract to supply food items required by the Department of Prisons to the current supplier from August 1 to January 1, 2021, considering the present situation experienced by the country as well as the current market conditions, as recommended by the Cabinet appointed Standing Procurement Committee.
Procurement of fertilizer for July 2020
International competitive bids have been invited for the procurement of fertilizer for Lanka Fertilizer Ltd (Lak Pohora) and Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Ltd for the requirement of fertilizer during the month of July. The Cabinet of Ministers has given the consent to the proposal submitted by the Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Minister for awarding the procurement of fertilizer supply as mentioned here, subject to the recommendation given by the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers, with regard to those prices: (1) To procure 9,000 metric tons of urea (Graniula) from Agri Commodities and Finance FZE for a sum of US$ 260 per metric ton; (2) To procure 6,000 metric tons of Triple Super Phosphate from Aries Fertilizers Group Pvt. Ltd for a sum of US$ 249.O7 per metric ton.
Re-establishment of the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development in the Govijana Mandiraya
Necessary action has been taken to re-establish the Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Ministry in the Govijana Mandiraya in terms of the approval given by the Cabinet of Ministers on December 18, 2019. However, the fabrication of the building should be attended to and the electricity system should be renovated. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal submitted by the Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Minister to award the contract of consultation services relevant to the renovation activities to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB), and the contract for the construction activities to Central Engineering Services Pvt Ltd, since the relevant activities should be attended to with immediate effect.
Allowing the purchase of chemical fertilizer for paddy cultivation for agricultural purposes
Fertilizer is issued under the fertilizer subsidy for paddy cultivation up to five acres, while the fertilizer required for the extent of land exceeding five acres should be purchased from the open market. Under these circumstances, a shortage of fertilizer used for other crops has been created in the open market, whereas the demand for fertilizer has been increased due to the escalation of the extent of land under cultivation especially as a result of the lockdown in connection with the C0VID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers considered the information furnished by the Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Minister on the action taken for the purchasing of stocks of remaining fertilizer by the Agrarian Development Centres, imported under the fertilizer subsidy programme for paddy cultivation by the government fertilizer companies, and the marketing of a sack of fertilizer weighing 50 kg at Rs. 1,000 to the cultivators so that the cultivators can purchase the fertilizer stocks required without creating any inconvenience to the government.
Extension of the period of the loan grant applicable to the Northern Highway
Connection Project financed by the Asian Development Bank
Renovation of national highways and provincial roads and construction of selected bridges in the Northern and North Central Provinces are being performed under the Northern Highway Connection Project financed by the Asian Development Bank. Funds up to US$ 98 million are provided by the Asian Development Bank for the purpose. Two additional packages of contracts of the Medawachchiya - Horowpathana road have been awarded in March 2019 from the balances of the loan grant, while the construction work mentioned above could not be completed before June 30 which is the valid day of the loan grant. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal submitted by the Roads and Highways Minister for extending the period of the relevant loan grant up to December 31, 2020
Extension of the contract with CECB for the construction consultancy services of the
Broadland Hydro Power Plant
The consultancy services contract for the construction of the Broadland Hydro Electric
Power Plant has been assigned to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB).
Although the project was scheduled to be completed on July 14, 2017, the project could not be completed as expected due to public protests, delays in land clearance, equipment manufacturer change and delay in executing the loan agreement.
Therefore, the contract period of the existing consultancy services contract with the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau has to be extended. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by Power and Energy Minister to extend the period of the consultancy services contract up to July 31, 2020, as per the recommendation of the Cabinet-appointed Standing Procurement Committee.
Renewal and installation of SriLankan Airlines’ aviation insurance policy for 2020/2021
Aviation insurance is a mandatory requirement for airline operations. SriLankan
Airlines has obtained insurance coverage from the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation in 2018 with Cabinet approval. The insurance cover has to be renewed annually and the Standing Technical Evaluation Committee of SriLankan Airlines has recommended that the insurance coverage for the year 2020/2021 be obtained from Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. Accordingly, Cabinet approval has been granted for the proposal presented by the Tourism and Aviation Minister to obtain the relevant insurance coverage from Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation for US$ 4.05 million.
The need to transfer the lands, which are considered as state residual forests to district/divisional secretaries
Administrations of the state residual forests managed by divisional secretaries has been brought under the Department of Forest Conservation in terms of the provisions of circular No. 05/2001 dated August 10, 2001, issued by the Secretary to the then Forest Resources and Environment Ministry. As per the provisions of this circular, a long procedure should be adopted for the use of such lands for other purposes. Therefore, the farmers who are engaged in chena cultivation in the
residual forests are greatly inconvenienced. This is also a barrier to the use of these lands for economically productive purposes.
The Cabinet of Ministers discussed these matters and decided to request the Environment Minister to look into the matter and furnish an appropriate mechanism for vesting powers in the district secretaries to engage such lands temporarily for other purposes. Under this mechanism, the government ownership should be retained and the residual forest environment and wildlife should not be harmed.
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