Amaratunga-Lanza in fiery exchange over alleged land fraud

Gampaha District United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Nimal Lanza got into a fiery exchange with Minister of Tourism John Amaratunga in Parliament this afternoon over an alleged multi-million rupee land fraud that has allegedly occurred in the sale of a plot of land belonging to the Wattala-Mabole Urban Council. 

By Sandun Jayawardana

Mr Lanza alleged that the chairman of the urban council and its secretary were among those involved in the scam. He claimed that 77 perches of land, valued at Rs 5 million a perch, belonging to the Wattala-Mabole Urban Council, had been sold at Rs 1.2 million each without following due tender process. 

Minister Amaratunga, who is also United National Party (UNP) organizer for Wattala, insisted that due tender process had been followed. However, Mr Lanza said that over Rs 300 million had been defrauded, resulting in a heated exchange of words between the two, before the Committee Chairman stepped in to ask the MPs to stop.