Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has instructed the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration to look into the allegations regarding the distribution of free rice by the government to the affected people.
Accordingly, the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Mr. Pradeep Yasaratne has instructed the district secretaries to carry out urgent investigations in this regard and submit the related reports to him within a week.
The government had recently decided to provide a rice subsidy for the groups of people who have been affected by the current economic situation.
Accordingly, the provision of this subsidy under several categories is currently being successfully implemented across the island.
Under this program, some people alleged that the rice distributed in the Badulla district was inferior in quality, and it has been alleged that the rice in the Hambantota district has been sold for a relevant amount.
Also, the ministry says that it hopes to deploy a special investigation team to find out whether this program will be conducted more regularly in the future.
