Politicians, their associates, and Government officials had allegedly misappropriated vast sums of public money and State lands under the guise of cultivation projects, Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna told Parliament on Friday.
During a debate on the expenditure head of his ministry, Minister Vidyarathna said that tens of millions of rupees had been squandered on agricultural initiatives that were never implemented, with the funds and lands instead being used for personal gain. He said that an investigation would be launched into the matter.
Among the most significant allegations, the minister said that former Minister Salinda Dissanayake, brother of veteran politician S.B. Dissanayake had allegedly taken over 76 acres of fertile land belonging to the Kurunegala Plantation Company for a company he personally set up. Similarly, 21 acres of the same plantation were reportedly handed over to an associate of former Minister Arundika Fernando, falsely claiming the land was barren. Minister Vidyarathna also alleged that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had signed the transaction.
The Minister also accused former Deputy Minister Anoma Gamage, wife of former Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage, of receiving Rs. 140 million for an agricultural project that was never implemented.
Rs. 180 million was allegedly allocated to former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda for a cultivation project, while Rs. 82 million was given to the son of a former Ministry Secretary, Bandula Wickramarachchi, for a similar initiative.
