Families inheriting lands from parents refused of land registration in Moothoor East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 October 2019, 22:06 GMT]
The authorities coming under the unitary system of occupying Colombo refuse to register title deeds for lands that are being inherited by newly married couples from their families in Moothoor East of Trincomalee district. The denial causes several other problems as the new families are unable to obtain bank loans or housing schemes without the proof of land ownership. Several appeals were made to resolve this issue since 2008 without any outcome, says I Raveendran, the deputy chairman of Vinaayakar Community Centre in Champoor. Now, the families fear that they would be permanently losing the lands if Gotabhaya Rajapaksa becomes the next SL President.

Resettled Tamils in the villages of Champoor, Koonith-theevu, Choodaik-kudaa, Paaddaa'li-Puram, Santhoasa-Puram, Kaddai-pa'richchaan and Kadat-karaich-cheanai in Moothoor East are affected by the problem, Mr Raveendran says.

The Divisional Secretariat in Moothoor is unable to issue the land documents as a Gazette notification issued by former SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the past has not been revoked even though the families were allowed to resettle by his successor, Maithiripala Sirisena after 2015.

The Rajapaksa regime had seized the entire area after uprooting the Tamils from Moothoor East in 2006, and it later declared the territory as an economic and military zone.

Although Mr Sirisena nullified the transfer of lands to the so-called economic zone, the initial Gazette notification through which the lands were initially appropriated, has not been revoked.

The District Secretariat has also been unable to conduct land Kachcheari, which is a periodic administrative practice intended to alienate lands to the landless people. The last land Kachcheari held in Moothoor East was in 1985.

The initial appropriation of lands was carried out under the proviso to section 38A of the Land Acquisition Act of the occupying unitary state in 2006.

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