Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2023-12-11 (Subject to Confirmation at the next Meeting)

The 'Urumaya Programme' which endows Land Permit and Grant Holders the Absolute Ownership of State Lands

- The General Public mainly the farmer community who have been given permits and grants under the Land Development Ordinance, have to encounter various issues in using the relevant land for human and development needs due to the absence of absolute ownership for the said land they possess or have developed. Therefore, the Hon. President, in the Budget Speech 2024, proposed to implement a programme called 'Urumaya Programme', enabling to take necessary action within the existing legal framework to grant the absolute ownerships of such lands to the general public mainly consisting of farmer community in order to minimize those issues and to commence the said arrangements at the beginning of the year 2024 and fully complete the same within few years. The said programme is planned to be implemented under three stages whereby the absolute ownership of residential and agricultural lands are expected to be given for two million families. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Tourism & Lands to issue a Grant with the absolute ownership under section 2 of the Land Development Ordinance for blocks of land for which Permits and Grants have been provided under the Land Development Ordinance by following the relevant steps, was approved by the Cabinet.