The Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha - Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation
K.D. Lal Kantha stated that the Government’s land process in the North and East is intended to regularize and return unresolved lands from the war period, not to acquire them, and assured that no land would be acquired. He said claimants could prove ownership through documents or attestations, while noting that settlement completion in the North and East lags behind the rest of the country. He proposed a discussion in Parliament with the Prime Minister, Attorney-General and officials to clarify concerns, adding that the Gazette could be paused if necessary but that doing so would delay land regularization for affected constituents.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 What you characterize as a “threat” is not so. Our objective is to expeditiously regularize and return lands in the North and East, where war left unresolved issues. Elsewhere, 98–100% of settlements are complete; in the North it is 30.368% and in the East 81.478%. We are not acquiring lands. I state responsibly: no land will be acquired. This process enables those with documents—or attestations (including from neighbours)—to prove their claims and receive title.
¶ 02 At the Prime Minister’s initiative, on the 23rd at 11:00 a.m. in Parliament, with you, the Attorney-General and officials, we will discuss this. If there are misunderstandings, we will clarify. If necessary, we can even pause the Gazette, but that would delay land regularization for your constituents. This is a standard nationwide process; in the North/East it lagged due to the circumstances you mention. Please support this effort; we will provide full cooperation.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 20 May 2025 ·No. 1749010823009957 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha - Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 May 2025. No. 1749010823009957. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25832