Fulfilling the promises made to the people and realising their land dreams, the government has granted one million deeds to the people over the past three years, Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Minister and Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunatillake said in Parliament yesterday.
Joining the Committee Stage debate, he said the good governance government had gone beyond just handing over land deeds to these people and will take measures to amend the Land Development Ordinance which would give full control of these lands to the recipients, so that they could make use of it as they pleased. “Through the amending of the Land Development Ordinance, the recipients would receive the full rights to their lands and they won’t have to go to the Pradeshiya Sabha, Urban Councils etc to obtain approvals and go through the process of filling numerous forms when they need to develop these lands. Through this amendment, the land inheritance which was earlier given only to the eldest child, would now be changed enabling all the children the right to this land. Cabinet approval has been received for the amendment of the Land Development Ordinance which would be presented to parliament shortly,” the Minister said.
He further noted that the government had provided lands for schools, hospitals, Divisional Secretariats, Police stations and other state institutions. Even the estate workers have been provided 7 perch land deeds giving them outright ownership to these lands.
Minister Karunatillake said that under the Home Sweet Home budget proposal, couples would be given lands by the government.
“The Lands Ministry is the front runner of all government institutions as be it development projects, construction site or any other endeavour, it is the Land Ministry officials who first lay foot on these lands. The Land Ministry is a very complex subject. Most of the court cases are regarding land disputes and most Police and District Secretary complaints are over land disputes. Hence, our government has understood the importance of this subject and is committed to resolving all land related issues,” he said.
Therefore, the minister added that it is necessary to change certain obsolete laws and regulations to suit modern day requirements, adding that the President, Prime Minister and the Lands Minister are all ready to make these radical changes in the land sector.
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