Nuwara Eliya Municipal Councillor Jude Chandana Madegama has alleged a Rs. 9.73 million financial misappropriation through the procurement of street lamps and related materials without Finance Committee approval, The Island reported on Monday.
Madegama made the allegation at the Council’s monthly meeting after an attempt was made to fold the Finance Committee report into the general council report for approval. He said items totalling Rs. 9,731,000 had been purchased for the city’s annual development programme but reached the municipal warehouse before the Finance Committee had cleared the procurement.
The materials were transported to Nuwara Eliya in a Municipal Council vehicle without formal authorisation and were inspected and accepted by a non-technical officer, the councillor said. He described the process as a procurement irregularity.
Madegama, joined by other opposition members of the Council, called for an immediate internal inquiry.
The disclosure adds to a recent string of local-government accountability issues. The Bribery Commission earlier this month arrested an SLRC representative and a Pradeshiya Sabha official over an unrelated case in the same district.
