Cabinet Decisions

New scheme for dual citizenship

The government has decided to amend the Citizenship Act No 18 of 1948 and the Immigration and Emigration Act No 20 of 1948 to formalise the grant of dual citizenship by establishing the 'Overseas Sri Lankans' Scheme.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's proposal and approved by the Cabinet will facilitate pre- examination to ensure that a person applying for dual citizenship in Sri Lanka has fulfilled the eligibility criteria for dual citizenship.

The amendments to be made will include the following: Establish a new scheme called 'Overseas Sri Lankans' to afford facilities to persons who have terminated citizenship in Sri Lanka and their underaged children to enter Sri Lanka and stay in the country; afford the opportunity to apply for dual citizenship to those who have registered under the above scheme, only after being subjected to a pre- examination and placed in a state of probation for five years; provisions to exempt persons from the requirement of registration under the new scheme if the President decides that granting dual citizenship in Sri Lanka for persons who have terminated their citizenship in Sri Lanka will be beneficial in the national interest.

Rs 299 m for Eastern University Professorial Unit

The Eastern University of Sri Lanka functions as a national university consisting five faculties, namely, Agriculture, Science, Arts and Culture, Commerce and Management and Healthcare Sciences, including the Campus at Trincomalee and Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Batticaloa.

The proposal by Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake to construct a three storied building to establish a professorial unit at the Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa for the Faculty of Healthcare Sciences of the Eastern University at a cost of Rs 299 million, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Faculty for the Healthcare Sciences established in 2005 has five batches of students reading for MBBS and three batches for Bsc Nursing and the new facility will fulfil the students' needs.

Rs 1,000 m for special flood mitigation projects in Colombo

Several places in the Colombo Metropolitan Region are subjected to floods during heavy rains. On the direction of the Defence and Urban Development Ministry, the SLLR&DC has initiated several urgent short term flood control measures to reduce the level of inundation in the region.

They include cleaning of existing canal system, dredging flood retention areas, creating water retention lakes and controlling haphazard filling of low lying lands.

The SLLR&DC has prepared a special flood control project programme for 2012. The proposal by the President, in his capacity as the Defence and Urban Development Minister, to implement utilising the budgetary allocation of Rs 800 million was approved by the Cabinet.

Some projects initiated during 2011 were creation of water retention lakes in Water's Edge, Rampalawatta, Thalawathugoda, drainage improvement works near Devi Balika Vidyalaya, cleaning of the Colombo Canal system etc.

This special flood control programme for 2012 will cost Rs 1,000 million.

Restrictions on transportation of sand relaxed

Cabinet paid attention to the relaxing of restriction placed on transporting of sands without permits. It was brought to Cabinet notice that transporting sand causes heavy traffic congestion on the main roads, particularly during peak hours as transportation of sand has been restricted for day time only.

It was decided that such sand transportation need not be restricted to day time only, as permits for such transport are not needed at present.