Suspension of licence to transport sand, soil: Cabinet to review decision after expert committee report

By Sandun A Jayasekera

The suspension of the law to obtain licence for the transportation of sand, stones and soil, by the cabinet on Tuesday (4) would be effective only for a week and an expert committee report is expected on the matter at the next cabinet meeting, Cabinet spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardana said yesterday.  

The cabinet would take a permanent decision whether to continue it lift it or implement with amendments based on the recommendations of the expert committee, Minister Gunawardana added. 

 
Addressing the weekly cabinet news briefing last morning, Minister Gunawardana said the ban was imposed by the cabinet considering the difficulty faced by local construction industry in obtaining sand, soil and stones.   

“The government is aware of the high cost of these raw materials. The cost of supplying sand, soil and stones has skyrocketed during transportation as suppliers have to pay for various permits in addition to various illegal payments and gratifications to many other individuals and establishments. This is an open secret. The cabinet would review the situation next week based on the expert committee recommendations and take a permanent decision on the matter. Bricks and tile manufacturers have also complained to the government on the high cost of raw materials like clay used for the manufacturing of them,” Minister Gunawardana said.  

The cabinet would review the situation next week based on the expert committee recommendations