Duminda now says building rented out with AG’s approval

PCoI calls for documentary proof

By Yoshitha Perera 
Former agriculture minister Duminda Dissanayake denied the statement made earlier at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) that the lease agreement was signed with D.P.A. Jayasinghe & Company without the Attorney General’s approval and said the lease agreement was signed in 2016 with the AG’s approval.   

PCoI Chairman Upali Abeyratne directed the former minister to submit those documents to prove that the AG’s approval was obtained to lease out the building.   

Mr. Dissanayake said the plan to shift the ministry came up because of the sudden decision taken by Parliament to relocate the Sectoral Oversight Committees at the Govijana Mandiraya even though it had still not been done. 

 
When asked by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ayesha Jinasena why the ministry had not been relocated at either the ‘Suhurupaya’ building or the SPI building before renting out the D.P.A. Jayasinghe building, the minister said it was because there was insufficient space to accommodate the ministry.   
Earlier the PCoI observed that according to a Cabinet decision by the Prime Minister in 2015, he has directed the Defence Ministry to attend to the urgent relocation of the Agriculture Ministry at the 14th floor.   

Mr. Dissanayake said he had asked the Cabinet to provide them with a land to put up a building to accomadate the agriculture ministry and the institutions coming under it. “However, the D.P.A. Jayasinghe building had sufficient space and that was why we shifted to that building,” he said.   

When ASG Jinasena asked Mr. Dissanayake whether he was aware that the ministry’s record room had not been completely shifted into the new building, he said he was not aware about that until now and that the former ministry secretary had informed him that the entire ministry had been shifted to the new building.   

It was also earlier revealed that there were problems with Air Conditioning system of the new building and employees had complained to the PCoI Police Unit that they had breathing problems when working in the new building.   

When asked about it Mr. Dissanayake said he was unaware about such issues and neither had he received any complaints about breathing problems.   
The agriculture ministry had paid a monthly rental of Rs.21 million + VAT + NBT from April 2016 to April 2019. 

• Plan to shift ministry came on a sudden decision by House
• Mr. Dissanayake asked to provide documentary proof