An advisory council has been appointed to guide the implementation of development programmes within the Anuradhapura sacred area, the President’s Media Division announced.
The council is co-chaired by the Acting Atamasthanadhipathi, Most Venerable Eethalawetunuwewe Gnanathilaka Thero, and the President’s Chief of Staff, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Its stated purpose is to provide the advice and guidance needed to carry out development work across the sacred precinct, which contains the eight principal Buddhist sites known collectively as the Atamasthana.
Background
The appointment follows a development plan that has been in preparation for much of this year. In October, the Urban Development Authority and the Department of National Physical Planning submitted a draft proposal to develop the Anuradhapura Sacred City at an initial estimated cost of Rs. 7.7 billion to the High Commission of India, with the Indian government expected to fund the work. Officials said at the time that the project was expected to begin before the end of 2026.
A council of this kind sits between that funding proposal and the work itself, giving the monastic authorities of the Atamasthana a formal role alongside the President’s office in decisions about construction and conservation inside a precinct that is both an active religious site and a UNESCO World Heritage property.
Not reported
The President’s Media Division statement relayed by Hiru does not give the council’s full membership, its size, the frequency of its meetings, or whether its advice is binding on the implementing agencies. It also does not say which specific development programmes fall within its remit, or how it relates to the Rs. 7.7 billion India-funded proposal.
Other outlets reported a membership figure for the council, but Ada Derana’s filing was not retrievable and no verified newsroom with an extractable publication date carried that number, so it is not reproduced here.
