58,000 Mahaweli settlers to be given land ownership

Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority says that 58,000 settler families of Mahaweli colonies will be granted the ownership of the lands.



The Director General of Mahaweli Authority and the Secretary of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management Ivan Silva said that the 'allocation papers' of the lands would be given to the farmers soon under an emergency programme as per instructed by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the guidance of the Minister of Irrigation and Water Management Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Under the emergency programme, 35,000 such ownership documents are to be handed over within the next few weeks, said the Secretary of the Ministry.

Earlier Mahaweli settlers have been given only a license for settlement and cultivation in state land.

The farming community in the Mahaweli C area faced numerous difficulties for several years due to the lack of title to the land.