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UDA gobbles up more prime land in Colombo
View(s):The Urban Development Authority (UDA) continues to acquire vast extents of prime property in Colombo Fort and surrounding areas, the latest being 1.7 acres (or 269 perches) in Kompanna Veediya.
Included is a 107-perch block in Masjidul Jummaih Mawatha owned by the Department of Examinations (DOE) which has been relocated to Sri Jayawardhanapura Kotte. A gazette notification published on Tuesday and signed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Minister of Defence and Urban Development states that the lands have been vested with the UDA.
The DOE property is the single largest block listed in the gazette. Other lands taken over by the UDA include smaller lots in Glennie Street, Market Lane, De Zoysa Mawatha, Java Lane and De Zoysa Street. In the past, area residents who were losing their properties as a result of the Government’s ambitious Slave Island Development Project sought respite from the Supreme Court but the Court held with the State.
Under existing arrangements, residents will be paid money to rent accommodation until new houses are constructed at government expense. They could then choose to live in the houses or to claim compensation for the loss of their lands.
The acquisitions are being carried out under Section 15 of the Urban Development Authority Law. In a separate gazette, also issued on Tuesday, a 30-perch plot in Colombo Fort has also been vested with the UDA. On Thursday a gazette was published to take over a further 20.10 perches located in Pettah near Norris Road. This land has been procured for the purpose of a “Historical Buddhist Heritage Project”, it states.
In March, the UDA also took over 125 perches of land at Aluth Kade, Keselwatte, for the purpose of carrying out an urban development project.
Acquisitions are steaming ahead in other parts of the country too, mostly in relation to highway projects. Last week, Land Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon even appointed three retired Sri Lanka Administrative Service officers for “land acquisition duties”.
S. Manawadu, G. Haputhanthri and P. P. L. Yasapala Alwis have been tasked with expediting land acquisition for the Road Development Authority’s highway projects in Matara, Hambantota and Ratnapura districts.