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Lid off the bogus land deal
By Santhush Fernando
Just four unknown promoters have been paid as much as Rs. 150 million for doing nothing but transfer State property near the Parliament complex given to them for 'a song' by President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Government, and over a hundred plots of land sold to numerous wealthy Sri Lankans, while hundreds of poor people are fighting for a few extra rupees as compensation, a Sunday Times investigation has revealed.

The final instalment for the transaction of State land vested in the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has just been completed with multi-millionaire businessman Sumal Perera of Access Holdings paying off so-called 'promoters' of Asia Pacific Golf Course (Pvt.) Ltd., the owners of the controversial Golf course at Battaramulla close to the Parliament complex.

The Rs. 150 million has been paid for the shares of Asia Pacific Golf Course to these promoters who were given this property by President Kumaratunga in 2001 via a BOI project. The promoters did nothing but get this 226-acre property from the President and sell it in turn to Sumal Perera's company.

The original promoters - promoted by President Kumaratunga -- are Sivasinanathan Selvaratnam, Suwaneeta Selvaratnam, Shantha Wijesinghe and Susan Wijesinghe. Despite telling her cabinet that Japanese promoters would also be coming in to invest, there is no known Japanese among them.
In the meantime, Asia Pacific Golf Course has entered into a separate agreement with the UDA and sold some 100 plots of 20 perches each at an undisclosed price reported to be in the region of Rs. 600,000 per perch to a host of wealthy Sri Lankans who include former national cricketers, businessmen and arms-dealers, some of whom have purchased more than one plot. Residents, displaced by this project, have been offered a paltry Rs. 305 per perch.

The deeds are signed directly between the UDA and the new owners of this property, with Asia Pacific saying they paid a "premium price" to UDA. Whether the UDA was entitled to enter into such an agreement remains a legal question because the property was originally acquired by President J.R. Jayewardene in 1986 under the Land Acquisition Act for a "public purpose only" as stated in the acquisition orders to residents who were later evicted. President Jayewardene had acquired this property and vested it in the UDA for the Parliament complex project. Building of private chalets in such State land is illegal, some argue.

UDA Chairman Gamunu Silva confirmed that these sales have been executed and said that permission for this has been granted by the earlier cabinet of President Kumaratunga.

According to The Sunday Times investigations, President Kumaratunga's Government has suddenly sought to cancel the deal, and the UDA has asked the Attorney General for a legal opinion.

Asia Golf has also obtained a private legal opinion from a President's Counsel who regularly is consulted by President Kumaratunga, to say that the company has legally acquired the property from the persons President Kumaratunga herself originally gave the land to. And that because it is a BOI project, international contractual rules will be in force.

The company says that a monetary consideration has been given by them to these promoters and the transaction is now legal. The Sunday Times learns that Rs. 150 million is the known sum given to these promoters. They point out that President Kumaratunga herself canvassed cabinet approval for these so-called 'promoters' in 1996 and asked cabinet to give them the 226 acre property lower than the market valuation of the Government Chief Valuer.

Sumal Perera was away in England for the ICC cricket championships, but the company's CEO, Dilshan Ferdinands told The Sunday Times this week that they would be proceeding with the soft-opening of the golf links in November this year in defiance of what is a sudden change of heart from President Kumaratunga's Government to have the rip-off deal cancelled - and that, after they have paid Rs. 150 million for the shares of the State lands President Kumaratunga herself had given them.

The company has finalised the payment of this Rs. 150 million to the former promoters after holding a glittering function at the Hilton Hotel in April to offer 2,500 preference shares of Rs. 250,000 each to raise funds for the golf links to be named, Waters Edge Golf and Country Club.

Meanwhile, over a hundred former residents of the area have challenged the meagre compensation that is being awarded to them by the UDA.
Some of them are to get compensation of less than one thousand rupees.
Asia Pacific claim that only 30 per cent of the property will go for the golf links and upto 60 per cent would include a playground in Battaramulla, a bird sanctuary and a lake.

They say that they have already spent large sums of money to develop the former marshy land, but residents say that they fear flooding of the area once the golf links come up.

In any event they ask who made a quick buck by this sordid deal, at their expense, and whether the promoters were a mere front for some businessman who was given a State bank loan in the UK only a few years back to purchase a mini-golf course there as well.

Former residents waiting for justice
The residents who were evicted from the proposed golf course at Battaramulla are asking whether it was reasonable to be paid Rs. 305 per perch for a property that is being leased out to future residents at some Rs. 600,000 per perch.

The former owners had fought a long and hard battle since 1986, to get the land back or at least for a considerable sum as compensation. Since 1999, the residents had appealed to the Review Board but with no results. This month, a delegation of former residents met Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to urge the Government to take back the land and hand it to the Urban Development Authority. They described the project to convert state land to a golf course as an "illegal land grab."

Long time resident Mahinda Perera who owned 454 perches was offered Rs. 141,816 for his acquired property. A.P. Silva who owned 430 perches was given Rs. 134,319. Two of the residents -- Jayantha Perera and Merlyn Perera who each owned 220 perches received Rs. 68,721 each as compensation five years back.

Residents face threats
The residents who were evicted from the land where now stands the Waters Edge Golf and Country Club say justice has not been meted out to them. The case filed by the residents will be taken up for argument in the Supreme courts on three consecutive days from Febreuary 21.

Mahinda Perera, Anura Perera and Leelananda Perera of the same family, Chandrika Amarasinghe and Jinadasa Epasinghe are among the petitioners. The Pereras say they are receiving death threats from unidentified persons and some unknown persons have visited them and collected personal information after threatening them.

Meanwhile people who have paid advances to reserve blocks in the land adjoining the Golf Course project say they too are affected as an interim court order has prevented them from carrying out any construction work. Some of them had paid as much as Rs. 39 million to reserve a ten-perch block.

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