… only two out of 225 House members now receive both
Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih yesterday (29) said that he wouldn’t forgo the fuel allowance granted to MPs from now on.
The NPP National List parliamentarian said so when The Island queried whether he continued to receive two fuel allowances-one as an MP and the other as Chairman of Committees. He said that he had informed Parliament of his decision.
Salih, as the Chairman of Committees, is among three persons––Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne and Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, as officials––entitled for two fuel allowances.
Following a revelation that Ministers and Deputy Ministers had obtained fuel allowance granted for MPs, in addition to their entitlement as Ministers/Deputy Ministers, they gave up one allowance.
However, the Speaker, Chairman of Committees and Deputy Chairperson of Committees continued to receive both allowances.
Ministers and Deputy Ministers now receive monthly allowance for 900 litres of diesel whereas during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure they got 1,200 litres and, before that, a staggering 1,500, in addition to MPs’ fuel allowance granted, depending on the distance to Colombo from where they were elected.
Those elected from Colombo received 283.94 litres, Gampaha and Kalutara 355.58 litres; Kegalle, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Galle and Nuwara 426.35 litres; Matale, Puttalam, Marata and Nuwara Eliya 497.12 litres; Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Vanni, Moneragala, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee 568.76 litres; Batticaloa, Ampara and Jaffna 639.53 litres. Those elected on National List received 419.76 litres.
At the moment only the Speaker and Deputy Chairperson of Committees receive both allowances.
Sources said that the scheme that enabled Ministers, Speaker and Chairman and Deputy Chairman to obtain double fuel allowances had been introduced years ago.
By Shamindra Ferdinando