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BOI, JEDB slam private firm over land dispute
View(s):The Board of Investment (BOI) and the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) yesterday accused a private company of unscrupulously holding on to a lease of 24 perches of prime land in Colombo out of 254 perches owned by the JEDB.
BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya and JEDB chairman Kennedy Gunawardena told a news conference that the company was pressurising the JEDB to lease out the entire plot at Rs. 5.6 million a perch, citing an earlier valuation of the Valuation Department.
But the BOI had managed to raise the valuation up to Rs 7.5 million a perch. The BOI has also insisted that the private company should show proof of funds before signing any investment agreement. Mr. Jayasuriya said that a Japanese investor had expressed interest in the 254 perch land located at Vauxhall Street, Colombo 2 adjoining the Beire lake, but they could not proceed with the deal because of the dispute.
He charged that a bankrupt politician was acting as a commission agent for the private company to make a fast buck and he was making baseless allegations. This power broker who had no locus standi to represent the company was ‘retained’ by the company only for the purpose of resorting to pressure tactics on the BOI and the JEDB in its search for the ‘pot of gold’, he said.
JEDB chairman Prof. Gunawardena said the land was in three separate plots and the lease term of two plots had ended, but the company had paid the lease for 4-5 months without the concurrence of the JEDB and attempted to keep possession of the land. On this basis, he charged that the company has obtained an enjoining order to prevent the JEDB from leasing out the land to a third party at the actual market price.
The JEDB chairman said the land was initially valued at Rs. 4.5 million a perch, and then Rs. 5.6 million a perch but the latest valuation gives the price as Rs. 10 million a perch. He alleged that the company was trying to lease out the land at a price much lower that this to another party. “As two responsible state institutions we cannot agree to a shady deal,” he said.
Prof. Gunawardena said the JEDB had debts amounting to more than Rs. 15 billion and other financial burdens such as arrears to be paid to its employees. This was an ideal opportunity to raise money, but because of the actions of the private company, the JEDB was deprived of this opportunity.
He said the JEDB had to depend on the Treasury for funds as its monthly earnings were around Rs. 40 million while its expenditure amounted to around Rs 100 million a month.