Programs

Under mentioned areas are identified as Sacred Areas,

• Sacred places of important and of special significance.
• Sacred places with provincial importance
• Sacred places with archaeological aspects and historical values
• On the basis of religious and social services rendered of provincial level by each historical sacred place.k

Such sacred areas will be declared sacred place. Several areas declared by gazette notification under the Town and Country Planning Ordinance No 13 of 1946.

Accordingly financial assistance is granted for the development of sacred places on consideration of religioun. Archaelogical importance historical importance cultural importance, environmental importance and economical and social importance.

List of the Sacred Areas

A punyagrama could be defined as a village free of poverty and indebtedness, with human resources filled with proper nutrition and leading a healthy life free of drugs and insensibility, free of harmful acts and with a spiritually high mentality, filled with knowledge and with developed personality with good conduct.By infusing the concept of the past, the village and the temple among the rural community for fostering and protecting Buddhism through motivation to engage in good economical activities according to the teachings of Buddhism is expected through this program.The objective of the Punyagrama is to protect the person, family and the villageby creating equality in consuming resources.For this purpose spiritual development programs for preserving moral values and physical and economical programs are implemented with temples as the center point. The Ministry of Buddhasasana has planned to implement the Punyagrama program in the year 2018 to create a society filled with virtues by consolidating the people in the village with the temple of the village and also by developing temples facing difficulties with less facilities and those villages for the purpose of creating an economically sound village.

Program proposed to be implemented under the Punyagrama Program and the objectives.

Program for preserving moral virtues.

• To produce a healthy and economically strong community while assisting to protect the social virtues based on Buddhism.
• To assist in minimizing the trend of infusing unsound anti - social activities into the society.To act as an active stakeholder to build a good relationship between the parents and the children
• To assist in bringing the participation of temples, bhikkus for daily social activities to a sound level.
• To introduce a program to obtain the active leadership of bhikkus for broad social activities not limited only for religious activities.

Physical and Economical Programs with temples as the center point

• To assist in building a rural economic system that could be developed with the temples as the center point
• To introduce a process to supply the necessary leadership through temples to convert the rural economy as an effective productive, economical criteria to refrain from economical activities which leads to social devaluation such as sending women to foreign countries and child labor
• Developing a common building of the temple for the useof the rural community
• Maintaining a rural data system with temple as the center point that could be utilized in assisting the economical activities

Implementation of Budget proposals Budget proposal No.161 of the General Treasury had allocated Rs.Mn. 250.00 for the year 2018 also for re-establishment and reconstruction of ancient Raja Maha Vihara temples and places of worship with archaeological value. Under this proposal provisions of Rs.Mn.175 have been allocated to the Ministry of Buddhasasana. According to a decision taken after discussion with state level institutions such as Archaeological Department and Physical Planning Department it was planned to implement this program through proposals obtained at Divisional Secretariat Divisions level. In this regard since these development activities are obtained on the recommendation of the Archaeological Department the supervision and guidance too was assigned to the said Department.

“Mathata Thitha”(Liqour/Narcotics Preventive Programme) Programme is the National Level Programme for producing a Society free of Liquor / Narcotics as mentioned in the Mahinda Chinthana manifesto. This programme which was initiated in 2007 is now being activated by the Notional Navcatics Prevention Steering Unit which is established under the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Religious affairs and under the patronage of Rev.Athuraliya Rathana Thero.

The National Drug Prevention Program is a program designed and implemented at the national level to create a society free of drugs, happy, happy and happy family units.

2007 The National Narcotics Control Unit was established under the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Moral Development.