Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-08-01

Reconstruction / restoration of war damaged temples and places of worship in Northern and Eastern Provinces

- A large number of temples/places of worship of historical and cultural importance in the provinces of North and East, have been damaged due to long drawn out conflict that prevailed in the said provinces, and requests have been made to grant the reconstruction activities of such temples/places of worship, directly to the Boards of Trustees of the temples/places of worship in such provinces, without following the tender procedure. Cabinet noted the information submitted by the Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to the effect that action has been taken to grant the reconstruction/restoration activities of the war damaged temples/places of worship in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, directly to the Board of Management/Trustees of the relevant temple/place of worship, under the direct supervision of the relevant District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries, having considered the nature of such reconstruction activities and the material and financial aid received from diverse local and foreign sources as well as the contribution of labour for the purpose.