The Cabinet of United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Mahinda Rajapakse Wednesday approved 1525 million rupees to establish the Secretariat of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) in Maangku’lam in Ki’linochchi district. The allocation is also to be utilized to repair destroyed or damaged local government offices in the cleared areas.
Accordingly, the headquarters will be established in Maangku’lam once the funds are released next year, at a cost of Rs.900 million while another Rs.625 million has been earmarked for the repairs and construction of local government offices.
Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister, Janaka Bandara Tennekone, submitted a Cabinet proposal in this regard and the Cabinet approved it and decided to include it in the upcoming Budget proposals for 2010.
The measures were announced at the Cabinet press briefing held Thursday morning.
Currently the headquarters of the NPC is located in Varothiayar Nagar, a suburb in Trincomalee town along Trincomalee-Kanniya road after the de-merger of the North-East Provincial Council on an order by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
Varothiayar Nagar is named after late Mr. N. R. Rajavarothiam, the first parliamentarian elected on the ticket of Ilankai Thamizh Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) to represent Trincomalee electorate from the eastern province in the general election held in 1956.
In the same election the other parliamentarian elected from the ITAK ticket was late Mr. C. Vanniyasingham from Koapaay electorate in the Jaffna district.
Two parliamentarians were elected on ITAK ticket in 1956 general election – one from east and one from north.
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