Bonanza for those living on state land without deeds

A bill to provide ownership of lands for those who are living on state lands through legal means for more than 10 years will be introduced in Parliament shortly.

The move will enable those occupying these lands to sell or transfer ownership legally and also obtain other facilities such as bank loans and use the deed as a valid document for school admissions.

The Bill covers lands granted under the provisions of the Land Development Ordinance, lands disposed under the provisions of the Land Grant ( Special Provisions) Act or lands provided under the Crown Lands Ordinance granted for agricultural purposes, under a land settlement programme or a colonisation scheme.

The Cabinet-approved bill is to be presented to Parliament with amendments proposed by

President Maithriapala Sirisena who has called for additional precautions to prevent the misuse of the benefit such as sale of land in plots.

Lands Minister Gayantha Karaunatillaka told the Sunday Times that one of the proposed amendments made by the President was that the land could be sold only for a person in the adjoining Grama Niladhari division preventing persons from outside areas from buying lands on a large scale. He said the Government had taken into consideration that a large number of people were left without a plot of land for the construction of a house while those living on state lands had no legal rights for the lands.

The minister said the Government was collecting data on who should be elgible to obtain ownership of such lands. Those eligible would be required to make an application to be considered by a committee before approval was granted.