Following the Supreme Court’s decision to hold the State Land (Special Provisions) Bill till it receives the green light from Provincial Councils, the Government is now eyeing to solve issues pertaining to the Bill at Provincial level and then table it in Parliament in the near future, Deputy Minister of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms, Edward Gunasekara told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
The government tabled the State Land (Special Provisions) Bill in Parliament on June 28, seeking to grant the absolute right of state lands occupied by 1.2 million people across the country.
However, Opposition Parliamentarians, Udaya Gammanpila, Sisira Jayakody and few other people challenged the Bill in the Supreme Court stating the Bill violates the Constitution. The Opposition also accused the Government saying that the State Land (Special Provision) Bill is an attempt to facilitate the controversial Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement between Sri Lanka and the United States.
After considering the petition, the Supreme Court decided that the proposed Bill was not compatible with the provisions of Article 154 G (3) of the Constitution and that it should first go through the Provincial Councils. The apex court of the country informed Parliament that the President should obtain the views of Provincial Councils prior to tabling the Bill in Parliament.
“We were ready to grant the absolute right of lands to 1.2 million people in the country. If we succeeded, the Government gaining attention and praise would be inevitable. The Opposition could not bear this and they went to courts” the Deputy Minister said. He added, “We are now planning to solve all issues at Provincial Council level. After that we will table the Bill in Parliament soon”.
“A large number of people still do not enjoy the absolute right to their lands. “As a result, they could nether sell nor transfer lands. They cannot even use their land for business purposes. We wanted to solve this problem soon” he explained.
Withdrawing the Bill from the order book in Parliament, Leader of the House, Minister Lakshman Kiriella criticized the Opposition’s move to go to courts against the Bill. “We wanted to provide land deeds to people.The Opposition prevented us from doing that” he said.