Archives

by Florence Wickramage

The present system of Deed Registration of land will be replaced by a new Registration of Titles since several defects have been identified in the existing system. The role of land in the economic development of any nation though not obvious is of great significance. Therefore the new system will be implemented during the 100 days program, said Bertie Buddhisena, Project Director, Land Titling and Related Services Project of the Ministry of Lands.

The object of Registration of Title is to provide a safe, simple and economic system of land transfer. Under this system the basic unit for registration will be the land parcel and not the Deed.

Mr. Buddhisena explained that under the new system each land parcel will be identified on a map that is cross-referenced to the registers that list the name of the owner, the nature of the tenure, and other ancillary information. These registers will reflect the legal position on the ground and the information on the registers will be guaranteed by the state. This means that anyone can act upon the information in the title register on the presumption that the information is correct.

Long standing land disputes have become a common feature in the Courts with 11,925 cases over 5 years, 8,829 cases over 10 years, 7,394 cases over 20 years, 934 cases over 30 years and 127 cases over 30 years still to be resolved.

Among benefits derived from the new Registration of Title system are Certainty of Ownership; Security of Tenure; Reduction in Land Disputes; Security for Credit; Facilitating of Land Reform and Support for Land Resource Management. The key features of the Title Register are Security, Simplicity, Accuracy, Expediency and Benefits to Society, Mr. Buddhisena said.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager