A Grama Niladhari ("village officer") is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a grama niladhari division, which is a subunit of a divisional secretariat. The duties of a grama niladhari include the reporting of issuing of permits, gathering statistics, maintaining the voter registry and keeping the peace by settlement of personal disputes. They are responsible for keeping track of criminal activity in their area and issuing character certificates on behalf of residents when requested by them.
The post is one was created in the 1970s replacing the post of village headman (vidane) that was created by the British during the colonial era.
References
Grama Niladhari Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA