Dearth of land valuers in SL

By Yohan Perera

As it has been revealed that there is a dearth of qualified valuers in Sri Lanka, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has advised that those qualified from the private sector should be given the opportunity.   

“Our view is that those from the private sector should be given the opportunity to take part in government valuations but it is up to the government to change the policy,” COPF Chairman Harsha de Silva said.  

The matter was discussed at the last COPF meeting where Dr. de Silva said there are valuers attached to Valuation Department while there are others at the Urban Development Authority (UDA). “Those attached to Valuation Department do not want appointments given to those who are attached to the UDA. This has to be resolved,” Dr. de Silva told the meeting.   

Dr. de Silva said the institutions from which the valuers qualify from also creates a problem.   

Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe who responded said the matter would be resolved before long. “The issue is that there is a dearth of valuers as most of them have gone abroad,” the Deputy Minister revealed.