Cabinet demands PCOI to probe relocation of army personnel

• Army personnel currently housed at 15 different locations
• Rs. 5 billion spent annually on rent to house army at separate locationsPresident warns 
• Cabinet of possible threat to national security due to separation of army units

By Skandha Gunasekara

Several Cabinet Ministers had called on the President to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe the issue of army personnel, who were earlier posted at the army camp land given to Shangri-la Hotel, being relocated to 15 separate locations at an annual cost of Rs. 5 billion. 

Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, addressing a press briefing at the SLFP headquarters yesterday, said that during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Defence Minister, had warned that housing army personnel at separate locations was a threat to national security and had enquired as to why the army was temporarily relocated in such an ad hoc manner. 

President Sirisena had demanded to know why army personnel had been relocated to 15 different locations, when plans to give the land of the former army headquarters in Fort to the Shangri-La project had been formulated years in advance, Minister Samarasinghe said. 

Samarasinghe said that the President had pointed out that the annual expense for housing the army in their temporary quarters was Rs. 5 billion, which was released directly from the Treasury.

“The President asserted that such a separation of military personnel was detrimental to national security and that costs incurred to temporarily house the Army units should be reduced significantly,” the Minister said.

The Minister went on to state that several Cabinet Ministers at this point had urged President Sirisena to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the matter. However, the President had not accepted nor rejected the proposal.

Meanwhile, Army Media Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne, speaking to the Daily FT, confirmed that the army was being housed at several locations, including Colpetty and Kelaniya. 

Furthermore, Brigadier Seneviratne assured that all army personnel would be permanently shifted to the new defence headquarters complex in Akuregoda, Battaramulla sometime next year. 

The Army Headquarters in Fort was sold for $ 125 million to Shangri-La Hotel under the previous Government.