21 January 2021 11:53 am
The special police unit under the Ministry of Lands is being set up to investigate and resolve issues including use and misuse of lands.
Minister of Lands S.M Chandrasena said thousands of acres of land under the Land Reforms Commission had been misused by several individuals and plantation companies.
He said steps would be taken to reclaim those lands and give them to the landless without any political or other influence.
The minister said that between 2001 - 2004 and 2015 - 2020, many state lands were misused by previous governments for their own political gain.
He said a special police unit is set up to look into these malpractices under the instructions of the President.
A special hot-line number 1931 has also been introduced for the public to inform the department about such misuse of lands and other malpractices.
Retired Senior DIG Sumith Edirisinghe has been appointed as the project Director, while a team of police officers, including two inspectors have been appointed to head the new unit.