• Approval only for public leisure and special religious activities 

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to reserve the Galle Face Green for the public only to spend time leisurely and for special religious activities whilst barring the same being used for musical shows and political gatherings.

The Ports Authority has taken over the development of the Galle Face Green as a corporate social responsibility project, at an expenditure of around Rs. 220 million. Speaking at the weekly Cabinet press conference yesterday (18), Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Bandula Gunawardana emphasised that the total expenditure spent just to repair the properties damaged during the period of the ‘aragalaya’ protest movement (formed to overthrow the then Government led by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa) amounted to Rs. 6.6 million.

Accordingly, the Cabinet has approved the proposal submitted requesting that the Galle Face Green only be used by the public to spend time freely and for special religious activities with effect from tomorrow (20). Thereby, permission will not be granted for any musical shows or political gatherings at the Galle Face Green premises which may cause damages to its allure.