Land Grab

The government cancelled 528 land transactions under the Land Reclamation Commission (LRC) on Thursday.

The government cancelled 528 land transactions under the Land Reclamation Commission (LRC) on Thursday. All land transactions between January 2002 and March 2004, of State land under the LRC, are cancelled as of now, said the Cabinet spokesman Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday.

The minister said that following the Cabinet decision the land will revert back to the State under the custodianship of the LRC immediately.

The reason for cancellation of these transactions, says Samaraweera, is because the land deals were political paybacks of the UNF.

The land transactions were mainly in the Ratnapura and Galle with a small percentage in Kalutara, said Samaraweera.

None of the land transactions were foreign purchases.

Another recent proposal to reintroduce the 100 percent tax on foreign purchases of land is still under evaluation.