Prolonged land disputes:

Ministry to take up mafia

Shirley Wijesinghe

A high level mafia connected to the prolonged land disputes will be resolved through a plan to be introduced, Land and Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon said.

He was addressing a gathering at a ceremony organized to mark the opening of the Pallepola, Monarawila Rural Community Water Supply Scheme built at a cost of Rs. 5.5 million for the benefit of 235 families recently.

Minister Tennakoon said land disputes affected the development process in the country. The present land settlement process is outdated and time consuming. The existing Land Act and ordinance should be revised to create new investment opportunities compared to other countries in the region. “The country should go for a new land policy adhering to new land management know how to compete with other regional countries to invite foreign investment, ” he added.

Tennakoon said he has provided instructions to amend the land and related ordinances. A national land policy will be introduced to accelerate land dispute resolving process of the country.

He said the Government is keen to reduce the cost of living providing relief to the people in the new atmosphere after defeating LTTE terrorism.