Divisions

This section includes all the general administration and office administration activities under Buddhasasana religious divisions and also the Postal Division, Transport Division, Legal Division, Engineering and Maintenance Divisions are also under this division.

• All the general administrative matters related to the staff of the Ministry
• All the construction / maintenance activities related to buildings of the ministry
• Acts and ordinances / Legal Affairs
• Activities related to the staff of the Minister
• Vehicle Purchases, Maintenance and Repairs
• Establishment activities to be carried out by ministry in regard of the Department of Buddhist Affairs and Buddhasasana Fund
• Organizing various functions
• All the activities relating to Cabinet Papers, Parliamentary Oral Questions etc
• Giving recommendations to the Ministry of Justice for obtaining sand and timber for the places of worship
• Issuing visa recommendations to foreign lay / clergy parties to visit for the religious purposes
• Issuing visa concessions to Sri Lankans for foreign pilgrimages
• Providing customs duty relief on goods imported / exported for religious symbols and for the use in places of worship.
• Carrying out all the activities related to local and foreign rest houses.
• Local - Rajarata Rest House in Kurundankulam, Anuradhapura
• Foreign - Dutugemunu Rest House in Nepal
• Activities related to general letters in regard of the temples

Searching for all development needs of temples within the scope of the Ministry, providing necessary provisions, supervision , regulating and developing the infrastructure of Buddhist sacred places through progress control, manipulating and giving guidance for the project planning activities of the Ministry and the departments under it, web site of the Ministry, network system of the institution, computer hardware and software management of information and communication technology infrastructure including IT procurement are the main functions of this division.

Under that,

• Development of underdeveloped temples and provision of infrastructure facilities;
• Reconstruction of temples damaged with disasters.
• Implementation of the Project to Promote Buddhist Relations between Sri Lanka and India with the assistance of Government of India
• Implementing the Sustainable Punyagrama Program creating economic and social development in the village to create a living environment in a sustainable village nurtured by values ​​by centralizing the temples of the villages identified as regressive.
• Development activities of Buddhist temples located in abroad
• Implementation of special local development Buddhist projects. (Construction of Vidyalankara International Conference Hall, Construction of Pallekele Performance Training Center attached to the Temple of the Tooth, Implementation of projects such as the Rejidelwatta Shakya Janapada Project.)
• Taking action to establish interconnections between Buddhist temples located in abroad.
• Developing the computer skills of the monks.
• Implementing Bhikku training to promote other language skills other than the mother tongue.
• Improving inter-religious co-operation and understanding for religious co-existence.
• Progress review of development projects implemented by the Ministry and Departments.
• Submission of the Annual Progress Report of the Development Programs carried out by the Ministry and other Departments under the Ministry in each year to the Parliament.
• Preparing the performance report of the Buddhasasana division and submitting it to the Parliament and taking action to table the performance reports of the departments under the Ministry in the Parliament.
• Preparation of action plan, development plan and budget proposals by planning the implementation of development programs relevant for each year.
• Dealing with public grievances and requests made to the President and the Prime Minister through programs such as Tell the President program / Conversation with the Village.
• Taking actions related to development programs in accordance with the Vision of Prosperity policy statement.
• Dealing with requests received by this Ministry in relation to the program of Conversation with the Village
• Drug Prevention Program.
• Ministry Website Maintenance and Development
• Compilation of reports by the Buddhist Data System.
• Computer maintenance and network system maintenance within the institution
• Providing internet facilities and e-mail facilities to the staff of the Ministry.
• Maintaining and updating the Buduputh Suraksha Information System.
• Maintenance of closed circuit television system (CCTV).
• Contribute to information and communication technology procurement activities.
• Maintenance and update of the official Facebook page of the Ministry;

Identifying the effective and disruptive factors for the utilization of funds allocated to this Ministry from the Budget with maximum efficiency and effectiveness in terms of Vision, Mission and Objectives and providing necessary guidance is done by this section. The following functions are performed in regard of that.

Under that,

• Providing necessary observations and guidance to the Secretary to the Ministry as the Chief Accounting Officer to fulfill the financial management responsibilities better and to ensure that all the resources of the institution are manipulated efficiently and effectively.
• Annual in line with the Vision, Mission and Objectives of the Ministry. Study whether action plans are being developed and identify deviations and recommend appropriate orientations.
• Studying the internal control strategies of all the institutions under the Ministry and identifying the weaknesses and issuing the necessary recommendations and guidelines and also preparing and submitting the internal control circulars.
• Studying the audit queries and internal audit queries submitted by the government audit and identifying the most risky solutions and submitting them to the Audit and Management Committee and providing assistance in making necessary guidelines and corrections.
• dentifying the weaknesses in the financial management systems of public enterprises with weak internal control strategies and financial efficiency and effectiveness under the Ministry and giving recommendations for planning, development and modernization of those systems and formulate practical programs.
• Identifying the non-productive business sectors of the public enterprises and the revenue increasing ways with cost efficiency and effectiveness and submitting recommendations to reduce the expenditure of those institutions.
• Conducting preliminary investigations and special investigations in the institutions under the Ministry and preparing charge sheets and submitting investigation reports.
• Coordinating all the institutions under the Ministry, organizing Audit and Management committees and thereby promoting the facilities required for resolving the procurement and management issues of capital projects and financial, management, administration and other issues.
• Strengthening the internal audit divisions of the institutions which do not have the Chief Internal Auditors under the Ministry and provide necessary guidance to the relevant officers.

The two main functions performed by the financial division are

• Procurement Activities
• Accounts and payments activities

The Finance Division consists of the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accountant, Accountant, 10 Development Officers, 04 Public Management Service Officers and 02 Office assistants.

Procurement activities

The main objective of the Procurement Activities is to acquire work, goods and services in accordance with the Procurement Plan by making more efficient use of the allocations made to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs for the acquisition of goods and services in the Annual Budget Estimates.

Main Functions

• Preparation of procurement plans in regard of the Ministry
• Purchasing with following the prescribed procurement methods
• Appointment of Annual Procurement Committees and Appointment of Technical Evaluation Committees

Accounts and payments activities

The main objective of the accounts and payments is utilization of Allocations provided in accordance with the Budget Estimates prepared on the basis of all Expenditure and Revenue of the Ministry in accordance with the Government Financial Regulations and related circulars issued thereon according to the correct and transparent accounting methods within the approved limits with maximum efficiency.

Main Functions

• Preparation of annual budget estimates and making all payments within approved limits
• Preparing final accounts by maintaining CIGAS and ITMIS programs and maintaining books and documents related to other accounting activities and reporting
• Money management and releasing imprests and performing all the functions with banks
• Registration and control of fixed assets, maintenance of consumer goods warehouses and issuance
• Providing necessary report data for the Ministry of Finance and its affiliated departments
• Answering audit queries received from the National Audit Office and the Internal Audit Division
• Releasing funds for development projects in collaboration with District Secretariats

The departments of all the religions are established under one Ministry for Religious Co-existence. This division unanimously carries out the administration and management of the departments of Hindu, Muslim and Christian Religious Affairs. The following functions are carried out by this division for the religious and social co-existence.

The problems related to Hindu, Muslim and Christian religions identified by the National Program of "Back to the Village with Work through a Conversation with the Village - (Gama Samaga Pilisadarak Thulin Weda Samaga Yali Gamata)" are referred to those departments for providing necessary solutions and supervision of the process.

The supervision of the tasks assigned to each religious department in accordance with the "Vision for Prosperity Building the Country" policy statement and retrieving in regard of the progress

Referring the requests recommended by the three Departments of Hindu Religious, Muslim Religious and Christian Religious Affairs and to the Ministry of Defense for obtaining security clearances required for the issuance of Visas for clergy and Persons of the respective religions and for the extension of Residence Visas.

• Taking appropriate actions regarding other special matters informed by that ministry
• Coordinating and informing the Department of Immigration and Emigration and other relevant institutions.
• Recommendation for visa concessions for religious trips
• Forwarding the requests for financial assistance for reconstruction and development of Kovils, churches and mosques to the relevant departments for further actions.
• Providing necessary advice and recommendations to the Departments to take necessary actions for solving legal or social issues arising in the society based on Kovils, churches and mosques.
• Providing supervision and recommendations for the establishment activities of the three departments .
• Taking actions to obtain the necessary security clearance from the Ministry of Defense for releasing religious books from customs when importing religious books into the country.
• Organizing and implementing co-existence programs to enhance the inter-religious cooperation and brotherhood.
• Giving recommendation to the Ministry of Justice to provide confiscated building materials at concessionary price rates for the reconstruction and development of religious places .
• Intervention of the Ministry to release foreign donations granted to the departments for religious activities from customs.