Govt employees refuse to engage in welfare benefits eligibility surveys

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has expressed his concerns over the fact that public servants have refrained from engaging in activities pertaining to the Information Survey for the Welfare Benefit Payment Programme.
 
The survey is currently being conducted to identify those eligible for the welfare benefit programme, and is due to end on 31 March.
 
Speaking at an event in Hambantota, the Premier noted that it is a regrettable situation that the government employees are not involved in the conducting of these surveys, as he deemed the task a ‘responsibility’ of those employed in the public sector.
 
Meanwhile, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe also urged all applicants to to submit accurate and timely data to the survey officers conducting the Information Survey for the Welfare Benefit Payment Program, as “failing to provide information before the deadline could result in the loss of benefits”.

He further noted that 1.1 million applications, out of the total 3.7 million applications received thus far to identify those eligible for the welfare benefits payment programme, have been completed through the ongoing information survey.