Developer furious over Darley Road land grab

Exposing the risk of investment in real estate, investor and developer Lanka Realty Investments (LRI) is furious over what it has alleged was an “illegal” daylight land grab by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) on Sunday.

An LRI spokesman alleged that land set aside by the company for a mixed development on Darley Road – Colombo, was forcibly and illegally taken into possession by officials of NHDA with the connivance of the Police.

The land, LRI claims, was for a Cabinet-approved mixed development project with an investment of over $ 250 million. Following all requisite approvals obtained and payments made, the land, according to LRI, had been freehold in LRI’s possession since 2006 – or 15 years to date.

“It is the law of the land that a person in possession of a land cannot be dispossessed of it by force, even by the Police, without a valid court order. However, LRI became the victim of an illegal land grab attempt by corrupt officials of the NHDA, who were assisted by members of the Police,” the spokesman said. 

Police had allegedly provided security for NHDA officials to break through a fence and enter the land. 

“They have not obtained any court order authorising them to enter land,” the spokesman said. 

“Is this how Sri Lanka is promoting investment and trying to do better on the ease or doing business index? If this Government is serious about promoting investor confidence, they must make these people accountable,” the spokesman said, adding that the company would be taking legal action against NHDA’s highhandedness. 

Previously, the NHDA had declared and confirmed that “there are no further dues, claims whatsoever from the project company and had further declared and confirmed that its obligations under and in terms of the Joint Venture Agreement have been satisfactorily complied with”.

The project’s origin can be traced back to 2006 and involved multiple partners, with LRI eventually taking over. A German firm, Baysat GMbh, had first entered into a joint venture agreement in 2006 to put up a mixed development in the then partially-NHDA-owned land. Later, the German firm exited, which saw L&T Infrastructure Development Ltd. taking over the project. Subsequent changes were sanctioned by Cabinet. As the project was delayed, in May 2016, the NHDA and L&T Infrastructure Development entered into a new agreement to complete it. The project promoters had paid Rs. 712 million, with NHDA ensuring thereafter that the State agency had no further say in the venture.