Rs. 4,566m paid in lieu of lost property

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Irangika Range

Highways and Road Development Minister T.B. Ekanayake told Parliament yesterday that the Government has already granted compensation amounting to Rs 4,566 million to 9,471 persons who have lost their lands, houses and other properties due to the construction of the Southern Expressway.

According to the Land Acquisition Act, the statutory compensation determined by the Valuation Department would be paid to the eligible owners. Meanwhile, a system has been formulated to pay compensation for lands and properties destroyed due to the affects of the construction of the relevant expressway," he said. "There is also a mechanism for granting compensation for the paddy fields which can no longer be cultivated due to the construction of the expressway," he pointed out. He said necessary arrangements have been made to establish an Expressway Authority rested with the responsibility for maintenance of the expressway.