LKR 200,000 Grant to Revive Damaged Industries Rolling Out This Week

 The government's initial relief fund of two hundred thousand rupees (LKR 200,000) to rebuild industries damaged by the recent disaster situation is set to be distributed through Divisional Secretariats within this week. Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Mr. Chaturanga Abeyasinghe, stated at a press conference yesterday (10) that the government's primary objective is to swiftly revive the production economy crippled by the disaster.

Steps have also been taken to allocate a provision of 50 million rupees (LKR 50,000,000) to compensate for physical damages to business premises or buildings.

Information gathering on damaged businesses for this relief process is currently underway, with data from 4,860 businesses already received by the system. The highest number of reports has come from the Gampaha District.

Among the businesses reported are 1,874 micro-scale businesses, 1,735 small businesses, 1,059 medium-scale businesses, and 192 large-scale businesses. Of these, 122 businesses have already restarted, and another 147 have indicated they can commence operations within this week. This initial assistance will be provided to every registered industry affected by the disaster, as a policy decision by the government.

To obtain the relevant relief, industry owners must submit applications before 2:00 PM on December 16th, either through the www.industry.gov.lk website or via the relevant officials at Divisional Secretariats. The Deputy Minister further stated that the Ministry would intervene to expedite compensation payments for businesses with insurance coverage, and the government would assist in resolving issues arising from the disaster in maintaining income tax files.