Amaraweera threatens to dissolve GSMB board

Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has announced that the Board of Directors of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) will be dissolved if an online system for issuing permits for sand, gravel, soil excavation and transport is not prepared within three months.

According to the current procedure followed by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau for issuing permits for sand, gravel and excavations, the public has to visit the head office as well as the regional offices, which is very congested on a daily basis.

It has been revealed that people have to waste time in vain as well as there being delays in issuing licenses and corruption and irregularities.

Due to this, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had on several occasions informed GSMB to set up an online system as an alternative, but this has not been done so far, as revealed when the Board of Directors of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau was convened by the Minister yesterday.

Expressing his displeasure, Minister Amaraweera has ordered that an online system be set up to issue sand, gravel and excavation and transport permits within three months.

The Minister has informed that if the process is not completed within that period, the present Board of Directors of the Bureau will be dissolved.

Amaraweera has also informed that he should be given a monthly report on the progress of the program.

At present, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau issues around one million licenses for sand, gravel and excavation and transportation annually, and the number of transportation licenses issued last year exceeded 1.2 million.