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| Wednesday, 16 July 2003 |
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Politics | |
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| Land Ownership Act presented to Cabinet this week - Rajitha by Rashomi Silva A 'Land Ownership Act' to expedite and regularise the process of state land disbursement will be presented to the Cabinet this week, the Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne told the Daily News yesterday. The new law will permit only the landless to be entitled to state land grants in the future. The proposed law also prescribes the limits of land extents that could be distributed within the Pradeshiya Sabha, Urban Council and Municipal Council limits will be rule out in the Act. "The main purpose of introducing the new legislation is to expedite the process of land distribution under the 'Rathnabhoomi' concept in the shortest possible time," the Minister said. Under the new Act, the land disbursement will start from the Divisional Secretariat level and the land grants will be vested with the Land Commissioner and a Land Committee appointed by the Land Ministry, Dr. Senaratne said. He added that "the committee will go through each request thoroughly to make sure that the lands go to the correct applicant. The Act also stipulates that the applicants who submit wrong information and obtained land unlawfully will be penalised and subjected to term of one year of imprisonment plus a fine." However, the new Act is not meant to clip the President of her powers as complained by the President. The Bill if passed in parliament will curtail the powers of the Minister to a great extent. Through the 'Ratnabhoomi' programme they were aiming at a gigantic target "We expect to dispose 1.2 million lots of government owned land within next two to three years. The present Constitution requires the Minister concerned to sign individual deeds, which is not practical. The new legalisation will remove these difficulties. Unlike the previous land grants by governments Ratnabhoomi deed holders will receive an unconditional deed, "We hope to convert all the Swarnabhoomi, Jayabhoomi and land permits to Ratnabhoomi deeds under this programme." |
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