The defence secretary has written to his counterparts in all other ministries and the heads of departments and state-run corporations to mobilise war funds through donations from employees to the National Defence Fund (NDF), the daily Island

reported on Monday.

Pointing out that there would be no conscription, the defence secretary's note said people of the country could however help indirectly by contributing to the fund and has asked ministry secretaries and others to collect at least a week's pay as donations.

The powerful Ceylon Bank Employees' Union has opposed the move and has announced that its members would not contribute any more to the fund.

It is estimated that Sri Lankans have already contributed Rs 727 million to the fundsince 1985. The government also levies a tough 4.5% defence levy on all goods and services to swell its war chest.

However, the expenditure on the war is constantly rising as Operation Jaya Sekuru, Sri Lanka's biggest military offensive against the LTTE now in its 16th month, shows no sign of ending.

Deputy finance minister G L Peiris told Parliament last month that the operation had pushed up the country's defence spending by Rs 800 crore from the currently allocated 4,400 crore rupees. This year's revised estimate now stands at Rs 5,200 crore, against 1997's defence expenditure of Rs 4,800 crore.

The National Defence Fund is used for the welfare of wounded soldiers and the families of those killed in action. It is also used by the government to pay insurance premiums of soldiers. However, the welfare of troops engaged in Operation Jaya Sekuru and their families had used up nearly Rs 236 million.

According to the report, NDF reserves had now fallen to less than Rs 100 million rupees which hadnecessitated mobilisation of more funds. In addition to government employees, schools have also been asked to contribute to the NDF.