Decisions taken by the Cabinet at its Meeting held on 11.07.2012

1. Ananda  College, Colombo gets a Playground at Rajaglriya –

·   The proposal made by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Defence and Urban Development, to revert the block of land more than 3 1/2 acres in extent, situated at Buthgamuwa Rajagiriya, to the Land Commissioner General, for handing over  it as a Free Grant to Ananda College, Colombo 10, for the development of a playground was approved by the cabinet of ministers.

·       The Cabinet also decided to allocate another block of land at Rajagiriya to the, Sri Jayewardhanapura, Kotte Municipal Council, to establish the "Chandra de Silva Playground.

2.  Agreement on avoidance of Double Taxation with India

·        Cabinet approval was granted as proposed by the President to introduce certain amendments to the draft agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of Fiscal evasion in respect of taxes on income, based on the negotiations held subsequently in Colombo.

·        Cabinet approval has already been granted for signing of the above Draft Agreement with the Government of India at Government level and for its presentation in Parliament.

3. Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 is to be amended–

·        The proposal made by Mr. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, to instruct the Legal Draftsman, to draft amending legislation to the Intellectual Property Act No.36 of 2003, so as to make certain amendments to the Act in the interest of writers, artists and inventors, was approved by the Cabinet.

·        This amendment will pave the way for voluntary registration of literary and artistic works under the article on copyright facilitating the easy proof of ownership to such works thereby assisting the authors and artistes to protect their creative efforts.

4.Printing of School Textbooks for the year 2013 entrusted to 18 printing presses

·    The proposal made by Mr Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Education, to award the tender for the printing and supply of 29,173,950 copies of School Text Books belonging to 322 categories for the year 2013, to 18 printing institutes was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

·        It has been planned to complete the distribution of these books before this year’s December holiday’s and the total cost of this is Rs.l,597, 637,818

5.  22 Setting up Migrant Resource Centres of Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) on  District Basis –

·      A proposal by Mr. Dilan Perera, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare to set up migrant resource centres at district level to provide better training facilities to migrant workers was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

·    These Migrant Resource Centres will have all necessary facilities, including residential training, particularly in District Capitals

·        These centres provide various services to persons to go abroad for employment purposes. A resource centre is presently under construction at Tangalle, with funds generated by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, and is due to be completed by the end of July 2012.

·        Another Resource Centre with hostel facilities for 200 females is to be constructed at Ratnapura at a total cost of Rs.274 million.

·      Annually nearly 265,000 Sri Lankans migrate for overseas employment of which 113,000 are housemaids. Workers migrating for the first time need to be given pre-departure orientation including training in domestic house keeping and basic foreign language training.

6.  MoU on Development of Coconut Industry with the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture

·        The Cabinet of Ministers gave its approval for a Memorandum of Understanding on Development of Coconut Industry in respective countries between the Ministry of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba.

·         This was a proposal made by Mr.A.P. Jagath Pushpakumara, Minister of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development.

·        The present annual production is about 2728 million nuts and it is proposed to increase the production in the future up to 3650 million nuts per year.

·        The proposed Memorandum of Understanding initially envisages carrying out scientific research, training of researchers and coconut growers and exchange of data and information with the aim of uplifting the coconut industry for the benefit of Sri Lanka and Cuba.

7.  Sri Lanka Press Council Law No.5 of 1973 is to be amended to make Registration of News casting Web sites compulsory

·        On a proposal made by the Minister of Mass Media and Information, Keheliya Rambukwella, the Cabinet decided to amend the Sri Lanka Press Council Law No.5 of 1973  to make provision for the Registration of News casting Websites.

·        Accordingly, inter alia, a registration fee of Rs 100,000 and an annual renewal fee of Rs 50,000 will be levied from each website which also include the news web sites which have already been registered with the Ministry of Mass Media and Information with effect from January 01, 2012.

·        The main objective of this amendment is to ensure the contents of the websites do not cause harm to defenseless individuals.

8.  Implementation of the Urgent Development Programme to uplift the living standards of the people affected by the drought  is to be expedited

·        Cabinet of Ministers at its Meeting held on 2012-07-04 directed the relevant authorities to formulate an urgent programme to provide relief to the people affected by the drought. Accordingly, the following proposals submitted to the Cabinet by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, for. the Meeting of 2012-07 -11, were approved for implementation:

o   Dredging of major irrigation reservoirs so as to increase their water retention capacities - under this programme. dredging of 1278 reservoirs / tanks will be undertaken at a cost of Rs.3577 million and the increase in capacity of these reservoirs / tanks after dredging will be 7378 acre feet, The work will be attended to by the Department of Irrigation, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka and the Department of Agrarian Development.

o   Provision of Drinking Water - drinking water facilities are to be provided to 52,430 families in 12 Districts at a cost of Rs.30 million.

o   Renovation of Agricultural Wells - dredging and renovation of 4,000 selected agricultural wells will be undertaken at a cost of Rs 40 million.

o   Payment in Cash for the work done - under this project, members of affected families between the ages of 18 and 60 are to be engaged in the renovation work pertaining to minor irrigation systems, canals and rural access roads, for a period of 8 - 12 days per month, subject to a maximum payment of Rs.6,000/- each, in their respective areas.

·        This programme will be monitored by a Presidential Task Force comprising of Secretaries to the relevant Ministries.

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