The Department for Registration of Persons, the sole government institution vested with constitutional authority to verify personal identity, has recently implemented a series of organizational and technological reforms to provide the public with faster and more efficient services.

Under a Cabinet-approved proposal empowering the Electronic National Identity Card (eNIC) Project, the Department has begun decentralizing its services by establishing new provincial offices, enabling people to access services closer to their homes.

Accordingly, it has been decided to establish the North Western Provincial Office in Kurunegala, and under the leadership of Eng. Eranga Weeraratne, Hon. Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, the One-Day National Identity Card Issuance Service was officially launched Yesterday (3rd).

This marks a significant step forward in improving public convenience. Currently, provincial offices are operational in Galle, Nuwara Eliya, Batticaloa, and Vavuniya — with the one-day ID issuance service already functioning successfully at the Galle and Nuwara Eliya offices.

With the launch of this new service, residents of the North Western Province will no longer need to travel to the Department’s Head Office in Colombo to obtain their National Identity Cards. Instead, they will now have the facility to receive the service within just a few hours at the Kurunegala Provincial Office.

The investment funds and technical support for this initiative are provided by the Electronic National Identity Card Project, and similar offices are planned to be opened in other provinces in the near future.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Commissioner General and members of the Board of Directors of the Department for Registration of Persons, government officials, and provincial representatives.

Attending this occasion were Hon. Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Ananda Sahabandu, Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council, Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy, Deepika Gunaratne, Chief Secretary of the North Western Province, D.M.K.C. Dissanayake, District Secretary of Kurunegala, G.P.S.J. de Soysa, Additional District Secretary (Administration) of Kurunegala, and Mrs. M.S.P. Suriapperuma, Commissioner General of the Department for Registration of Persons, along with members of the Board of Directors, government officials, and representatives of local authorities.

This new initiative further strengthens the government’s commitment to delivering fast, reliable, and technologically advanced public services to the citizens of Sri Lanka.