Land Commissioner's Department

Corporate body

Land Commissioner's Department

1913-1992

The Land Commissioner's Department, was first formed in July 1931. Prior to the changes in July 1931, it was one of the duties of the Controller of Revenue to advice Government on land questions and to exercise a general supervision over land settlement and the land work of the Revenue Officers. The Land Commissioner took over the Revenue. It was the duty of the Land Commissioner to advice the Minister of Agriculture and Lands and his Executive Committee upon all land matters, and to see that their policy in land administration was carried out. It was also intended that the Land Department should gradually become a bureau of information to the public who desire to acquire land. An immediately pressing duty of the Land Department was the preparation of a land manual.
In 1938 the Land Commissioner had, to help him an Assistant Land Commissioner, a Legal Assistant, a Deeds Assistant and 10 Clerks.
Tasks not directly concerned with crown lands were also entrusted to it from time to time. They had to do with the Administration of the Debt Conciliation Bill (1941), the Defence Regulations of 1941 dealing with the production of food on estates, and the Land Redemption Ordinance (1942). The Department was also made responsible in 1943-44 for the intensive Island-wide campaign for the production of Food
In accordance with the recommendations of the Cardes Commission, contained in Sessional Paper V of 1948, a separate Department of Land Development was established by Government in October 1948. The following functions, hitherto discharged by Land Commissioner's Department were transferred to the new Department, viz; Land Department.
(a) Food production work (other than the administration of the Food Production (Estates Ordinance)
(b) Work relating to Land Development, preliminary to the establishment of colonies and peasant settlements.
The constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was amended on October 13th 1987 in order to create Provincial Councils and devolve some of the state functions to the Provincial Councils. With the Provincial Councils (Consequential Provisions) Act No.12 of 1989, there was a significant change in the role of the Land Commissioners Department. Activities such as Village Expansion Schemes, Youth Settlement Schemes, Highland Settlement Schemes, Rain-fed Settlement Schemes which are not inter-provincial, became functions of the Provincial Councils,
Out of the traditional functions, only the major settlement projects, which are inter provincial continued to be the responsibility of the Department.
The Land Commissioner's Department is responsible for the overall administration and development of state-owned lands, which include redistribution of lands under various schemes, issue of permits, grant and leases under principal acts and provision of infrastructure facilities in settlement schemes. The bulk of the land area being under state control, land redistribution has for many decades formed an important programme of the government for relieving landlessness and unemployment. The programme of redistribution of lands comprised of the following.
(a) Major settlement schemes. (b) Regularisation of encroachments (c) Redistribution of Land Reform Commission (d)Redistribution of Land Grants (Special Provisions) Act, under the Crown Lands Ordinance, (e) Village Expansion Schemes (f) Rain-fed fanning settlement schemes, (g) Highland Settlement Schemes, (h)Youth Settlement Scheme

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