Tuesday Sep 29, 2026
Tuesday Sep 29, 2026
Monday, 28 September 2026 04:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
ITAK Parliamentary Group Leader Shanakiyan Rasamanickam
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Parliamentary Group Leader and Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has called in Parliament for reforms to give local authorities modern revenue powers, adequate resources, and greater autonomy. He warned that councils are being asked to fund more of their own costs while their ability to raise income remains outdated.
Rasamanickam raised the matter last week and alleged that some local authorities are currently required to meet about 20% to 40% of their salary expenditure from their own revenue, and councils could eventually be expected to finance their entire salary bill this way by 2029.
He questioned claims that this was an International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirement, saying it was not an IMF condition as far as he understood. He warned that councils already struggling for income could become unable to function if the salary burden rises without their revenue-raising capacity also being strengthened.
He said revenue tools have not kept pace with economic realities. Some licence fees for Pradeshiya Sabhas and Urban Councils remain at around Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 6,000, and some fines are as low as Rs. 100, Rs. 150 or Rs. 500. Rasamanickam called for rates, fees, permit charges, fines, and other charges to be modernised and reviewed periodically. He also called for State legal assistance to recover unpaid rates, taxes, and rents, particularly from major defaulters.
He said several revenue-generating project proposals submitted under the Local Loans and Development Fund (LLDF) remain unapproved, even as councils are being told to increase their own income.
Rasamanickam also said that because elected Provincial Councils have not functioned since 2017, by-laws prepared by Municipal Councils since 2018 remain unapproved. He called for a legal mechanism to approve and gazette them without delay.
He raised concerns that the Kattankudy Urban Council was assessing and collecting property rates in the Manchanthoduwai ward, which falls within the Batticaloa Municipal Council area. “Administrative boundaries cannot be changed through tax collection,” he said.
He also questioned the legal basis for Prajashakthi structures identifying and prioritising Local Government projects. “Members of a Prajashakthi committee cannot come in and perform the functions of representatives elected by the people,” he said.
Rasamanickam also sought disclosure of central and provincial development allocations to each district and local authority in the North and East in 2025 and 2026, and of vehicles and machinery provided to councils over the past five years.
