The government will allocate Rs. 46,600 million in the interim budget to provide an additional monthly allowance as urgent assistance to those who have been affected due to loss of employment, decline in agriculture output and inability to cultivate due to many reasons.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament about the continued support to these families when he was presenting the interim budget today.
This support will continue for another four months to reduce the economic pressure on these groups.
Between May to July 2022 this year, the government spent an additional Rs. 31,000 million to support them.
Some 61,000 food insecure families Rs 10, 000 per family as urgent assistance for another four months.
Meanwhile Rs. 133 billion has been allocated under the World Bank loan assistance to reduce the impact of the current economic crisis and restore social stability.
From this allocation, Rs. 40 billion has been allocated to import urea for paddy cultivation in the 2022/2023 “Maha” season.
In addition, the monthly Samurdhi allowance has been increased to between Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,500 per month for approximately 1.7 million families.
The allowance paid for the elderly, disabled, and kidney patients will be increased to between Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,500.
Owners of small boats that are used for the fishing industry and plantation areas that have no electricity services who were affected by the kerosene price hike will get a subsidy for these areas.
