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by Florence Wickramage

The World Bank has pledged to support the program implemented by the Ministry of Lands to ensure that poor deserving landless people own a piece of land, to put up a permanent shelter.

Mariana Todorova, Country Director of the World Bank and Joseph M. Pernia, Legal Financial Sector Specialist met the Minister of Lands Dr. Rajitha Senaratne on Thursday, to confirm World Bank's support for the development program to be implemented by the government.

Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told the World Bank delegation that the Land program will be implemented islandwide. Whilst ensuring that a block of land will be provided for the landless, action will be taken to identify extents of land where economically viable commercial projects could be sited.

The Minister said that an extent of 1061 acres of land had been identified to be distributed among the landless. Likewise 205 acres of land had been earmarked in the Kalutara district, 220 acres in the Galle district, 158 acres in the Ampara district, 133 acres in the Ratnapura district, 105 acres in the Kurunegala District, 48 acres in the Matara district, 11 acres in the Puttalam district, 50 acres each in the Mahanuwara and Matale District, 71 acres in the Nuwara-Eliya district and 10 acres in the Badulla district.

The Minister said that all departments under the Ministry i.e. The Land Commission, The Lands Reforms Commission, and the Surveyor Generals's Department will collaborate in the implementation of the program.

In the meantime, the Minister assured that encroachers on state land will be legitimised as far as possible while lands belonging to sacred places encroached upon by illegal occupants will be released back to the respective places of worship.

The Surveyor General Ranasinghe Silva said that already 10,000 acres of land in 25 districts had been surveyed and title deeds have been drawn up in respect of the surveyed land.

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