The directive was issued when the Committee on Public Finance, chaired by Harsha de Silva, met in Parliament on January 8, 2026, according to the Department of Communication of Parliament.
During the meeting, officials of the Welfare Benefits Board acknowledged that multiple issues had emerged from the existing 22 eligibility criteria used under the Aswesuma scheme. As a result, the Committee instructed authorities to adopt new criteria for selecting future beneficiaries.
Changes to beneficiary categories
The discussion took place while considering the extension of the Aswesuma Welfare Benefits Payment Scheme under Section 9 of the Welfare Benefits Act No. 24 of 2002, as published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2467/03 dated December 15, 2025.
Officials explained that benefits for the transitional category ended on April 30, 2025. Under the proposed amendments, payments will continue only for the vulnerable, poor, and extremely poor categories.
However, due to potential socio-economic risks arising from unexpected disasters, officials proposed extending payments to the vulnerable category until June 2026, instead of ending them on December 31, 2025.
They also confirmed that assistance for persons with disabilities, kidney patients, and elderly beneficiaries will continue without interruption.
Concerns over administrative spending
The Committee also questioned officials from the Department of Samurdhi Development regarding the scale and effectiveness of its operations. Officials stated that empowerment programmes currently target around 2 million families.
In response to queries on expenditure, officials revealed that over Rs. 22 billion is spent annually on administrative processes, including salaries. For 2026, a total of Rs. 27.38 billion has been allocated for salaries and empowerment-related activities.
The Committee Chair raised concerns over the high proportion of funds allocated to administration, compared to direct empowerment initiatives. He also questioned whether any post-project evaluations had been conducted on community development programmes.
Officials confirmed that no independent evaluations had been carried out to assess programme outcomes.
Recommendation for independent review
Following these disclosures, the Committee recommended to the Ministry of Finance that all welfare and development programmes under the Department of Samurdhi Development, along with other welfare schemes, be subjected to independent evaluation.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Ministers Nishantha Jayaweera and Kaushalya Ariyarathne, along with several Members of Parliament.
Last modified: January 13, 2026
