Former Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture B. Wijeyarathne appeared before the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption this morning (1) to record a statement regarding the incident of acquiring a private building for the Ministry of Agriculture on a rental basis at a cost of Rs. 1524.44 million (over Rs. 152 crore) outside the procurement process.
The Auditor General’s Department had earlier recommended that a formal investigation be conducted into the parties who decided to rent it for the period 2015-2019.
According to audit reports, aside from constructing a new building on a one-hectare plot of land in the Battaramulla area owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, it has agreed to pay a rent of Rs. 1260 million (126 crores) for this private building for 5 years at a rate of Rs. 21 million per month.