Local Govt. polls skipped, councils get extended terms

The Government is to extend the local councils' term by one year without elections, the Sunday Times learns.

Accordingly, the terms of 340 local bodies -- 24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils and 275 Pradeshiya Sabhas -will be extended after their mandated four-year term expires in April next year. The term of another local council -- the Elpitiya PS -- ends later on.

Official source said the Government would cite the current pandemic situation and the financial crisis it faced for the extension.

The move comes after a proposal by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in the Budget 2022 to allocate Rs four million to each of the 4,917 local government divisions. The allocation is to cost the Government Rs 19,668 million.

The Finance Minister claimed the allocations would be made to local council members irrespective of their political parties.