The Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the replies are as follows:

¶ 02 1. i. Permits are issued continuously in the ordinary course by Divisional Secretariats. ii. The Land Reforms Commission does not issue permits. iii. For the Mahaweli Authority, the position is as follows. The Mahaweli Authority has planned to issue 25,000 permits in 2025, by zone, as follows: Zone B - 4,500 Zone C - 4,500 Zone D - 1,000 Zone H - 4,000 Zone L - 2,000 Victoria - 500 Huruluwewa - 500 Moragahakanda - 2,000 Walawe - 4,500 Rambaken Oya - 1,500 Total - 25,000

¶ 03 2. i. Approximately 4,000 grants are ready to be issued by the Department of the Land Commissioner General. ii. The Land Reforms Commission has about 1,400 deeds ready for issuance. iii. For 2025, timelines for grants and title deeds have not yet been scheduled.

¶ 04 3. i. and ii. Cabinet approval has been granted for the report submitted by the committee appointed to review the “Urumaya” programme, and further action can proceed accordingly. Not applicable to the Mahaweli Authority.

¶ 05 4. i. and ii. Cabinet approval has been granted for the report submitted by the committee appointed to review the “Urumaya” programme, and further action can proceed accordingly. Not applicable to the Mahaweli Authority.

¶ 06 Hon. Presiding Member, the Mahaweli Authority had effectively halted issuance of deeds and lands in recent times. Our Ministry is Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation; lands are within it. The Land Reforms Commission, the Mahaweli Authority and the Land Commissioner General’s Department are all under this Ministry.

¶ 07 We are ready to commence the Government’s programme to confer land rights—permits, deeds and grants—under the “Himikama” (Ownership) Programme, beginning on the 13th at 9.00 a.m. in the Palai Divisional Secretariat, Kilinochchi District, led by Hon. Minister K.D. Lalkantha. We expect to issue 50,000 permits, deeds and grants in 2025. Arrangements are in place.

¶ 08 From the Mahaweli Authority, we aim to issue 25,000 permits this year to residents within the 10 zones. For the Land Reforms Commission, we plan around 7,000 permits or deeds for lands used for commercial and other purposes, and about 500 long-term leases for LRC lands used commercially. The Department of the Land Commissioner General aims to issue 18,000 grants, long-term permits and deeds.

¶ 09 Additionally, we plan to allocate at least 500 land parcels this year for investments—parcel sizes varying from small lots to large acreages—through LRC, Mahaweli Authority and state lands administered by the Land Commissioner General.

¶ 10 Thus, under the “Himakima/Himikama” programme commencing on the 13th, we will deliver ownership documents to 50,000 persons in 2025.