Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya says the amended national environmental law allows fines of up to Rs. 20 million and imprisonment for those who dispose of hazardous waste in the environment, the Daily Mirror reported.
She made the remarks on 10 October at the 36th anniversary celebrations of the National Namal Uyana, where school supplies were distributed to more than 1,500 schoolchildren.
The amending legislation she referred to is not new. Parliament passed the National Environmental (Amendment) Bill earlier this year and the Speaker’s endorsement — which completed the legislative process — brought it into effect as Act No. 15 of 2026 in July. The Rs. 20 million ceiling for hazardous-waste offences is the detail the Prime Minister set out publicly at the weekend event.
At Namal Uyana
The school supplies were provided with assistance from South Korea, and a memorandum of understanding was signed between Namal Uyana and South Korea at the event.
Proceedings began with the Prime Minister planting a tree to mark the anniversary, followed by the distribution of supplies and a tribute to local and foreign individuals, including journalists, who have worked to protect the site. Namal Uyana is known for its rose-coloured quartz mountain range and surrounding forest ecosystem.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the work of Ven. Wanawasi Rahula Thera and others who have campaigned to preserve the reserve.
On education
Addressing the gathering, she said a country’s most important investment was not in buildings but in the education and character development of its children, and that initiatives supporting children’s education should be valued.
She said the ongoing education reforms aimed to produce children who could think independently, appreciate the environment and grow into well-rounded individuals with strong human values, rather than focusing solely on examinations.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say what the maximum penalty was before the amendment, so the scale of the increase is not established. It does not say whether any prosecution has yet been brought under the new ceiling, what terms of imprisonment apply, or what the MoU signed with South Korea commits either side to.
