The 29 year wait by 33 families resident at Thambilikanda in Kahagala South Grama Seva Division of Kamburupitya, for title deeds to the lands they live on will end soon. “We should be able to hand over the title deeds by August this year,” said Divisional Secretary of Kamburupitiya, Nilmini Herath in reply to a query made in this regard on Tuesday.
These people were allotted land in 1988 by President Ranasinghe Premadasa but the authorities were unable to hand over the title deeds as documentary evidence as to which government institution owned the lands would be determined. The Land Reform Commission had even charged rentals for a period of time but could not come up with documentary evidence of the land being vested with them.
The people had been sent from pillar to post for years and staged many protests until they decided to appeal to the Minister of Law & Order and Southern Development, Sagala Rathnayake as well as the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office and Member of Parliament for the Matara District two years ago. Minister Rathnayake had detailed Assistant Social Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, Vasantha Kuruppu the task of resolving the issue.
“Documentary evidence to the ownership of the land known as Thambilikanda was finally traced and we have done all the preliminary work and will be in a position to hand over the title deeds before
August this year,” the Divisional Secretary affirmed.
The plight of theses people who had been deed less for 28 years was revealed in the Daily news of April 7 2016.
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