The appropriation of land under the guise of security, development and other reasons, in the Northern and Eastern provinces, highlights the complexities of Sri Lanka’s land related conflicts. Over the decades, several initiatives have been taken to dispossess people of their lands such as the creation of high security zones and special economic zones to more recently the use of “national heritage”. In several instances, laws and policies have been used in the attempts of appropriating lands, oftentimes done with scant regard for transparency, due process and the rights of citizens. This is in a context where the legal framework governing land in Sri Lanka is complex, with many unaware of legal and procedural tools that can be used to appropriate their lands thereby paving the way for dispossession and displacement.
For instance, the Land Acquisition Act, No. 09 of 1950 is one such tool that has been repeatedly employed by successive governments to dispossess people of their lands. It allows the state to acquire private land for ‘public purpose’. The overwhelming practice in the Northern and Eastern provinces shows that this law has been used in an arbitrary manner and without affording citizens even the very limited protection the law offers. As per Section 2 of the Act, the Minister has the discretion to declare lands to be acquired and notice of land acquisition is to be made publicly available (displayed in conspicuous places) and to be displayed in all three official languages. In response to a Section 2 notice in 2013 affecting large tracts of land in the Valikamam North in the Jaffna Peninsula, writ applications were filed by 2,176 individuals from Jaffna. CA Writ 125/2013 (Arunasalam Kunabalasingham and 1473 others Vs. A. Sivaswamy and 2 others) and CA Writ 135/2013 were by petitioners who set out to bring to attention the forcible acquisition of an area of the Jaffna Peninsula equivalent to two-third of the entire city of Colombo. Several such attempts at acquisitions have been challenged in court with many mobilising over the years to prevent ad hoc and unjust attempts at land appropriation.
Another state initiative that attempted to appropriate land was via Land Circular No.2011/04 that required all landowners of the North and East, including private landowners to furnish details to the relevant Divisional Secretary or Assistant Government Agent, through the Grama Niladhari, within two months. Such a step meant that many private landowners of the North and East stood to lose title to their lands if they failed to furnish details within two months. In this instance, CPA and several others raised concerns with the broad powers provided under the Land Circular to dispossess individuals from their lands. Subsequently it was challenged in court (M.A Sumanthiran Vs. R.P.R Rajapaksha and others) in CA Writ Application 620/2011 and a Fundamental Rights Petition in the Supreme Court SC FR 494/2011 with the government withdrawing the said Circular.
Post war years have continued to see other attempts at land appropriation via the use of laws and policies and with the involvement of state and non-state actors including development and religious actors. CPA’s recent report (The Intersectional Trends of Land Conflicts in Sri Lanka) provides an overview of the range of actors, laws and policies that are at play and the consequences of such actions.
| Area Considered Under Land Settlement Ordinace | Amount of Land Considered |
| Mullaitivu (Settlement Notice Nos. 5620, 5621, 5622) | 1702 Acres |
| Jaffna (Settlement Notice Nos. 5617, 5618) | 3669 Acres |
| Kilinochchi (Settlement Notice No. 5619) | 515 Acres |
| Mannar (Settlement Notice No 5623) | 54 Acres |
In the most recent attempt, the government issued Gazette No. 2430 on 28th of March 2025 that stated that lands in the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, and Mullaitivu will be claimed as State land if the owners of such lands do not claim them before the 28th of June 2025.
CPA and local politicians have raised this issue which resulted in the government promising to revoke the Gazette but at the time of writing no such revocation has taken place in terms of the law. On 12 June 2025, M. A. Sumanthiran filed a fundamental rights application SC FR 112/2025 in the Supreme Court challenging the Gazette.
This Gazette is the most recent attempt by the state to dispossess people via the use of legal and policy initiatives, further exacerbating fears and apprehensions among people of their ability to fully enjoy and use their lands. The numerous initiatives over the years also demonstrates the continued use of the law and administrative processes to appropriate lands, against the background of successive governments failing to fully implement the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution that provides for the limited devolution of land powers to the provinces and the establishment of the National Land Commission. These and other land issues are indicative that the root causes of the conflict continue to be sustained in Sri Lanka.
Centre for Policy Alternatives
13.06.2025