The Cabinet yesterday gave approval for the Agriculture Ministry at Rajagiriya which is on a monthly rent of Rs 21 million to move back to its old building.
Cabinet approval was given to the proposal for the Ministry to relocate to its original location, the Govijana Mandiraya in Battaramulla.
The Agriculture Ministry was moved to Rajagiriya by the previous Government, to make room at the Govijana Mandiraya for the newly set-up Parliamentary Oversight Committees to meet.
The previous Government had signed the rental/lease agreement for the D.P.J. Towers at No. 288, Rajagiriya for five years, from August 4, 2016 to July 4, 2021, following a Cabinet paper presented by then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
After renting the building at the hefty amount, it was not utilised for more than a year, due to lack of facilities. The Ministry officially shifted to the building in August 2017.
The building rental has been subject to an investigation by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing corruption between 2015 and 2018, which was appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena.
Tamar Amitai, a 25-year-old Israeli tourist who went missing in Uppuveli, Trincomalee, was found safe after a three-day joint search operation today.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is firm about the President’s five-year tenure, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.
Individuals who have obtained a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) yet do not meet the cutoff, can choose to remain tax exempt after notifying the IRD in writing, provided that their monthly income does not surpass the threshold, according to the State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.
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