By The Land Reforms Commission (LRC) has alleged that plantation companies have encroached upon thousands of acres of state-owned plantation lands over the years, utilizing them without proper authorization.
These lands have not been assigned to the State Plantation Corporation or the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB).
LRC Director General Liyanage Pathmasiri said that that legal action would be pursued to reclaim these lands. He reported this issue to the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis on July 11.
Committee Chairman Gamini Waleboda advised that immediate steps be taken to reclaim the land illegally acquired by plantation companies.
Additionally, Pathmasiri revealed that apart from these state plantation lands, about 56,000 acres are being illegally occupied by individuals who have constructed houses on them, leaving the LRC with only about 7,000 acres of unencumbered land.
