President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the relevant officials to amend the existing ordinances regarding lands to suit the current development needs.

The Head of State issued these instructions during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday evening (May 10), on amending the provisions of the ordinances of land management institutions and introducing new regulations.

During the meeting, he also informed the respective officials to appoint a suitable committee to speed up the work.

Pointing out that the land policies brought during the colonial period are still being implemented in the country, the President also said that the ordinances brought at different times related to land use are not in line with the development needs of the time.

It was also discussed at length about the preparation of a new National Land Policy by removing the existing obstacles in providing land for development activities.

The President instructed the officials to resolve the issues of the lands under the Provincial Councils through a Land Commission.

The President also instructed the officers to identify the details of the land owners in the Grama Niladhari Divisions and the amount of land that is currently utilized and the amount of land that has not been utilized and prepare a report at Divisional Secretariat levels.

President Wickremesinghe directed the officers to take steps to redistribute among the public the lands acquired for Government purposes but not yet utilized, and in the future to acquire lands for Government purposes by paying the market value of the respective lands.

In order to avoid the delay in the works of the Survey Department and the Valuation Department, he further instructed to take steps to fill the vacancies in those departments promptly.