All Donations Received for Disaster Relief Are Securely Maintained Under the Treasury
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that compensation and relief measures for people affected by the disaster are being implemented with significant progress and that all necessary financial allocations have already been released to Divisional Secretariat level to facilitate these efforts.
The Prime Minister made these remarks in Parliament today (10) while responding to a question raised regarding disaster relief services and the management of donations received for disaster response.
Further elaborating on the matter, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that although certain delays in the delivery of relief may occur due to technical and administrative reasons, the relevant authorities have been instructed to minimize such obstacles and expedite the process.
She noted that substantial progress has already been achieved in the payment of compensation for damage to vegetable, chilli, onion, and paddy cultivation. Compensation has also been provided for loss of life, total property damage, and livestock losses. In addition, financial assistance to help disaster-affected individuals restart their small and micro-enterprises has been disbursed to a significant extent.
The Prime Minister further clarified that neither the President nor the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence has issued any Gazette Notification under the Disaster Management Act. Instead, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence issued a special circular to ensure the maximum deployment of public officers on a 24-hour basis. Accordingly, an "Extended Disaster Situation" was declared with effect from 11 November 2025. This declaration was made through an administrative circular relating to disaster relief services and not through a Gazette Notification.
She also explained that when the disaster occurred, the institutional framework established under the Disaster Management Act, No. 13 of 2005, had not yet been fully operational. Therefore, to address the emergency situation, the President declared a State of Emergency under the provisions of the Constitution and the Public Security Ordinance.
Addressing concerns regarding disaster-related donations, the Prime Minister emphasized that all domestic and international financial contributions received in response to the disaster have been deposited only into Treasury-controlled accounts and not into any unauthorized or unlawful accounts. Therefore, there is no issue regarding the legality or accountability of these funds.
Accordingly, the Special Treasury Account has received Rs. 7.599 billion from local donors and USD 11.5 million from international donors. All these funds will be utilized transparently and accountably, under the supervision of the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, while giving priority to national needs and priorities.
These allocations will be used primarily to continue providing relief to disaster-affected communities, restore their livelihoods, and rehabilitate damaged public infrastructure and essential services as quickly as possible.
The Prime Minister further noted that several challenges have arisen in relation to damaged houses, particularly those built on unauthorized or State-owned land. In addition, some houses are located in high-risk areas, including landslide-prone zones, and the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has advised residents to relocate from such locations.
Resolving land ownership issues and carrying out permanent resettlement is a complex process that is expected to take approximately one year. Meanwhile, the Government has provided rental assistance to families who have permanently lost their homes, enabling them to stay in rented accommodation or with relatives. For those without such options, a Transitional Housing Project has been launched, and its implementation has now reached a considerable level of completion, the Prime Minister added.
Prime Minister’s Media Division