Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa signed the gazette notification legalizing the Divi Neguma Development Department .

Operations of the Divi Neguma Department will commence from Friday onwards.

According to the The Ministry of Economic Development, 1.8 million families and 5 million people will benefit from this department.

The Divi Neguma Act was challenged in the Supreme Court however, it was approved in Parliament by a majority of 117 votes.

Twenty-Four Thousand Eighty-Two (24,082) Samurdhi workers and around 26,000 public servants attached to five institutions will be absorbed into the Divi Neguma Department. The public servants will be given pension funds and will also be entitled to other privileges.

The Divi Neguma Development Department will function under a director general through 25 district offices.

The department was created to integrate the Samurdhi Commissioner General’s Department, the Upcountry Rural Rehabilitation Department, Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority, Sri Lanka Upcountry Development Authority as well as the Southern Development Authority.

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