By Shane Seneviratne   

Mahanayake of Malwatta Chapter Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera stressed that the government should take steps to prevent wasteful expenditure in the Ceylon Electricity Board as alleged by different parties instead of increasing tariffs for places of Buddhist worship to cover the losses.   

During a meeting with Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission Janaka Ratnayake, Ven. Mahanayake Thera said the CEB’s plan to cover the losses by taxing the temples would be a futile attempt and that the alleged corruption and waste in the CEB should be prevented first. 

“Most temples are not in a position to pay the increased electricity bill and it is the duty of the authorities to grant concessions to temples. Mahasangha had reiterated since long that several state institutions are running at a loss due to corruption and wasteful expenditure, but every government has ignored it.” Ven. Sumangala Thera further said.  

However, after the meeting , the chairman of the commission told the media that the electricity charges for places of religious worship would be reduced and that he took this step in view of the requests of the Mahasangha and other religious dignitaries. He pointed out that the electricity bill in places of religious worship would be reduced from Rs. 75 to Rs.32 per unit above a certain limit.