The Government has reached a final agreement with the Buddhist clergy on the proposed amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance (Vihara Devalagam Act), and the reforms are expected to be finalised within this year, Deputy Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake said.

Speaking to The Daily Morning on the progress of the amendments, he said that discussions between the relevant parties had now reached their final stage following months of consultations. "The amendments to the Act have been under discussion for the past 20 to 30 years. This is not a process that began yesterday. We believe that the work gathered momentum over the past year and a half, and today we can confidently say that it has reached its final stage," he said. 

He explained that the process involved extensive consultations between the Buddhist clergy and the Legal Draftsman's Department before a consensus was reached. "On one side are the bhikkhus, and on the other is the Department. Following discussions between the two parties, they have now reached a final agreement. Therefore, we hope to complete these amendments within this year," he added.

His remarks come after the Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Ministry earlier acknowledged that the amendment process had been delayed due to the lengthy approval procedure involving several institutions, but maintained that the delays were not deliberate. Earlier, speaking to The Daily Morning, Dissanayake explained that amendments to the Ordinance had to pass through several stages involving the Attorney General's Department, the Legal Draftsman's Department, and the Mahanayakas (Chief Prelates) of the three Buddhist Sects.