Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Bill withdrawn

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

The Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Bill which was to be taken up for debate in parliament was withdrawn by House Leader and Minister, Lakshman Kiriella after the Attorney General had informed that some sections of the Bill were inconsistent with the Constitution.   

The debate on the second reading of the Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Bill was to be held in parliament yesterday. The Bill was intended to allow the Power and Energy Minister to take over the powers of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).   

Speaking in parliament, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa said that it was inappropriate to take up for debate a bill, which gave unlimited powers to the Power and Energy Minister.   
The withdrawal resulted in the parliamentary session being limited to 90 minutes.  

The Bill  was to allow the Power and Energy Minister to take over the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka