Response To Gammanpila: On Functioning Of N&E Provincial Councils

By National Peace Council -May 1, 2014

Udaya Gammanpila

In an interview given to the Daily News of 24.04.14, Western Provincial Council minister Udaya Gammanpila has taken issue with a statement of the National Peace Council with regard to Provincial Councils in the North and East. He has quoted from the NPC statement that “although the government has held elections in the Northern Provincial Council, it is useless unless the Council is allowed to function without undue interference from the centre”.

He says “I challenge NPC activists to name any powers which the center has withheld from the Northern Provincial Council that are enjoyed by the other Provincial Councils” and goes on as follows:  “They say that a measure of autonomy must be given to the Tamils. This is to allude that Provincial Councils have no autonomy.  All the Provincial Councils in the country, including the Northern Provincial Council have autonomy in regard to their administration,” he adds.

The NPC wishes to reply to this challenge by Mr. Udaya Gammanpila regarding the actual devolution of power to the PCs and to name any powers which the centre has withheld from the Northern Provincial Council that are enjoyed by the other PCs.

Although on paper the same powers are devolved to all Provincial Councils those in the former North-East Provincial Council and the present Northern Provincial Council have been stultified in their functioning by the manner in which the Governors of these two provinces have used their powers with respect to these two Provincial Councils (the former North –East and later Eastern Provincial Council) and the Northern Provincial Council. Unlike the manner in which the Governors have functioned in the South where they have played a largely passive role and allowed the Chief Ministers and the Councils to function as per their initiative,  the Governors in the former North Eastern Provincial Council  and later in Eastern and the Northern Provincial  Councils have stymied the legislative and executive powers of these  Provincial Councils.                                          Read More