Parliament to approve payment of salaries and allowances to Reparations Office members

• Salaries, allowances to be paid with retrospective effect from April 
• Five members were appointed to it in April
• Office tasked with identifying aggrieved victims qualified for reparation and recommend appropriate compensation

By Chandani Kirinde 

The Government will move a resolution in Parliament shortly to get approval for the payment of salaries and allowances to the members of the Office for Reparations with retrospective effect from 1 April.

The members to the Office for Reparation were appointed in April this year for a three-year term. The members are Chairperson Dhara Wijayathilake while its members are A.A.M.  Fatheehu, Colonel (Retd.) Rathnapriya Bandu, Dr. J.M. Swaminathan, and Sumithra Sellathamby.

The Chairperson of the Reparations Office will be paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 135,000, a monthly telephone allowance of Rs. 10,000 and will be given an official vehicle with a quota of 225 litres of fuel per month.

The other members of the Commission will be paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 90,000 and a monthly telephone allowance of Rs. 8,000. A monthly transport allowance of Rs. 25,000 will be given to members up to a limit of 350 km or an allowance of Rs. 50,000 for a distance over and above 350 km, depending on the distance from the residence to the Office.

The funds of the Office for Reparations will come from the consolidated fund. The Office received Rs. 700 million from the 2019 Budget to carry on its activities.

The Office for Reparation is tasked with identifying aggrieved victims qualified for reparation and recommend appropriate compensation individually or collectively to them. The Bill to set up the Office of Reparations was passed by Parliament last year.