Action to prevent language discrimination

Nethali Struys

Action will be taken against government departments and other service providing institutes, in the event of receiving a complaint on language discrimination by the public, the Official Languages Commission (OLC) said.

“Under Chapter Four of the Constitution, any individual or organization could make a complaint to the OLC on violation of language rights,” OLC secretary J C Ranepura told the Daily News. He pointed out that people have the right to read and understand documents, notices and other printed materials without any difficulty.

Government departments and other public institutions have a duty to ensure that the public is served and their rights are protected.

The Commission has implemented a new rule and advised all government departments and institutes to print documents in all three languages to protect the language rights of the people. Failing to do so will incur a fine of Rs 1,000 or three months imprisonment,” he said.

Public can complain to the Official Languages Commission, Fourth floor, Basha Mandiraya, 341/7, Kotte Road, Rajagiriya, or email [email protected], fax 0112871379 or call 0112871378. The Official Languages Commission is entitled to recommend policies relating to the use of official languages.

It also has the authority to take action to ensure the appropriate use of the official languages, Ranepura added.