DailyMirror
Land Ministry Secretary Asoka Peiris has sought the Attorney General’s advice on the illegal sale of a block of land in the Knuckles Range to Air Force Commander Roshan Gunatilake.
Air Chief Marshall Gunatilake is allegedly putting up a holiday home on the land which is in an area declared by the Forest Department as Environmentally Sensitive..“Both the sale of this 21 hectare-block of land after it was gazetted to have been acquired by the Lands Ministry under the Land Acquisition Act of 1961 and the construction of a house or tourist hotel on it are illegal. We will definitely take legal action against this and acquire the block of land on the advice of the AG,” Mr. Peiris told Daily Mirror yesterday.
He said the land was to be acquired from its owner Roy De Silva and compensation paid to him at the time it was sold to a third party illegally.
Mr. Peiris alleged it was possible for the land owner to have tricked Mr. Gunatilake into purchasing the land by suppressing the facts about the upcoming acquisition.
“We will pay only for the land after court permits us to do so. But where the cost of construction is concerned it is a matter to be sorted out by the owner and the buyer,” he said.
Air Chief Marshal Gunatilake is reported to have put up the holiday home on the land situated in the Dumbara Hills off the Rattota – Ilukkumbura main road and some eight kilometers inside the thick jungle.
Meanwhile Forests Conservator K.P. Ariyadasa said the land had been declared an ‘Environmentally Sensitive Area and a forest reserve’ and that the department had asked the Lands Ministry to acquire it and hand it over to the Forest Department.
“It is against the law to sell a land to a third party after it was gazetted for acquisition by a state authority. In this instance the seller and purchaser are both on the wrong side of the law,” Mr. Ariyadasa said.
Confirming what the Lands Ministry Secretary and Forests Conservator said, Central Environment Authority (CEA) Chairman Charitha Herath said he had chaired a meeting yesterday to decide what needs to done on this matter.
“The land in question does not belong to the CEA. It is to be protected by the Forest Department as a natural forest and a sensitive area. The land was to be acquired by Lands Ministry and handed over to the Conservator of Forests. At the discussion all participants decided to assist the Lands Secretary in his efforts to repossess the land,” Dr. Herath said.1.