Northern Province Hon. Governor, N. Vethanayahan, who stated there is a better improvement than expected in the activities of controlling the usage of lunch sheets in the future, emphasized that immediate actions should be started to control the usage of polythene and one-day cups in the future. With that, He also appreciated local governments for performing in the manner of controlling the lunch sheet.
A monthly progress review of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Law and Order, Lands, Electricity, Housing and Construction, Tourism, Local Government, Provincial Administration, Rural Development, Road Development, Motor Traffic, and Transport was held today (16th June 2026), Tuesday, at the Governor’s Secretariat.
Social Security and Alleviation of Plastic
Meanwhile, It was discussed regarding the progress of activities of controlling the lunch sheets. It was indicated by the medical officers of health that usage of one-day cups and lunch sheets is secretly sold at some commercial shops in Jaffna City. It was emphasized that local governments’ severe actions should be taken to cancel the license of commercial shops that engage in these types of activities.
Once the new environmental bill to be passed in Parliament comes into effect, it will be possible to take even stricter measures to control the use of plastic and polythene, said L.C. Anand, Assistant Director of the Central Environmental Authority.
In particular, it was recommended that the use of polythene and single-use plastic cups be completely restricted during temple festival periods, including the Nallur Grand Festival, and that the Jaffna Municipal Council make this a mandatory condition when granting permits for shops.
Contraceptive treatment program for dogs.
The meeting discussed continuing this year the sterilization program for female dogs that was carried out last year. The Provincial Director of the Northern Province Department of Animal Production and Health, Dr. S. Vaseekaran, clarified the procedures for this.
With medications ready on hand to treat approximately 15,000 dogs, it has been decided this time to carry out sterilization treatment for male dogs in parallel with female dogs.
Since the Provincial Health Department is also implementing a separate family planning program, it was decided that both departments would coordinate, divide the regions among themselves, and carry out this program.
It was pointed out that there had been public opposition in some places last year when implementing this project. Therefore, it was decided to commence the project from next month only after creating sufficient awareness about the necessity of legal arrangements and public cooperation. In addition, steps were taken to provide vaccinations for personnel associated with the project, including those responsible for capturing dogs.
Local Government and Infrastructure Development
The Governor advised local government councils to obtain corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding from large companies or seek assistance from trade associations for the beautification of ponds and surrounding roads.
The secretary of the Ministry stated that the Ministry’s housing schemes have made significant progress. In addition, the shortcomings identified by the Ministry’s surprise inspection team (flying squad) were also brought to the Governor’s attention.
The local government commissioner stated that after new engineers were assigned to the local government department, development work is being carried out more quickly and smoothly.
It was pointed out by assistant commissioners that certain projects are being directly allocated to local authorities without informing the Provincial Chief Secretary, the Ministry Secretary, and the Commissioner. The Governor instructed the Chief Secretary to issue appropriate instructions to the relevant project managers in order to avoid such irregular allocations.
Recalling the recent field visit undertaken in the Vavuniya – Settikulam Divisional Secretariat Division, the Governor expressed concern that it was possible to observe that some villages in the area have been deliberately neglected. He instructed the Assistant Commissioner of Local Government to immediately fulfill the basic needs of those villages on a priority basis.
Road development and other projects
The Road Development Department Director stated that the renovation work on the Urkavalthurai – Kannakai Amman landing site road will be completed within this year, and the renovation work on the landing site will begin next year.
Following this, the progress of projects of the Land Commissioner’s Office, the Department of Rural Development, the Department of Motor Traffic, the Tourism Development Bureau, and the Road Passenger Transport Authority were also examined in detail.
Right to Information and Transparency
At the conclusion of the meeting, several important directives were issued by the Deputy Chief Secretaries (Finance, Engineering, and Administration). In particular, it was clarified to officials that, in accordance with the guidelines of the Right to Information Commission, details of all development projects being implemented in the province must be mandatorily displayed on official websites.
At this special review meeting, many participated, including the Chief Secretary of the Northern Province, the Governor’s Secretary, the Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Deputy Chief Secretaries (Administration, Planning, Finance, Engineering), the Commissioner of Local Government, the Commissioners of the Municipal Councils of Jaffna and Vavuniya, the Land Commissioner, Secretaries of Urban Councils, the Directors of the Road Development, Rural Development, and Motor Transport Departments, the Director of the Tourism Development Bureau, the General Manager of the Road Passenger Transport Authority, District Engineers of the Road Development Department, and Secretaries of local authorities.
