Reports are emerging as to why the Sports Ministry has decided to offer Rs. 20m to Sri Lanka cricket despite financial provisions reserved to the Ministry by Budget 2014 running dry.
It has now emerged that provisions have been requested from the Director General of the Sports Development Department on the sole whim of the Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary - Nishantha Ranatunga.
The request has been made even without the approval of the SLC Executive Committee, reports add.
A sum of Rs. 10m out of the total financial grant has been reserved for the development of cricket grounds in Moneragala and Anuradhapura.
The measure is implemented with the intention of securing the district level votes when Ranatunga hopes to contest for the Chairman post at the upcoming elections at the SLC, reports add.
The remaining Rs. 10 million has been obtained for the development of school cricket. However, according to internal sources of the SLC, the main chunk of the grant has been reserved for schools located in the electorate of the Sports Minister.
This link between the sports minister and the SLC secretary can be revealed through the following documents.