Rented private premises in Rajagiriya vacated several years ago
Landlord contacted several times, but remains evasive
AG to take legal action
According to Agriculture Ministry sources, a deposit amounting to Rs. 630 million given when renting the private building in the Rajagiriya area, where the Agriculture Ministry was housed a few years ago, has not been returned to the Ministry till now.
When inquired, the Secretary to the Ministry M.P.N.M. Wickramasinghe said that on 07.04.2021, the Agriculture Ministry moved from the rented building in the Rajagiriya area to the building in Battaramulla, but the deposit was not returned.
In this regard, he said although the Ministry has informed the parties who own the Rajagiriya building several times, they have failed to inform of a specific method or time for returning the deposit.
Therefore, the Secretary said that the matter was handed over to the Attorney General’s Department to initiate legal proceedings to recover the money.
Wickramasinghe further said there have been some irregularities in the Agriculture Ministry during the previous governments and investigations have been started in this regard.
“Certain irregularities which occurred in the Agriculture Ministry are now being revealed. The Ministry has given a deposit amounting to Rs. 630 million while renting a privately owned building for its office premises. In this kind of transaction, a bond is usually obtained from a bank. Currently, the building has been handed over to the owners. But the deposit amount has not been returned yet. When asked about the deposit amount, they delay to reply and do not give clear answers about returning the money. If an amount of Rs. 630 million has been deposited in a bank between 2021 and 2024, you can get huge interest. There are many cases like this. Information has been received that there have been various irregularities in the distribution of fertilisers in the past and investigations will be started in the near future,” he added.