Proposal to establish a "Land Exchange of Sri Lanka" similar to the "Colombo Stock Exchange" to facilitate sale of land in Sri Lanka.
Rohan Wickremasinghe
"Colombo Stock Exchange" to facilitate sale of land in Sri Lanka.
There are thousands of land sales executed by deeds in Sri Lanka every
day. Sometimes such land sales involve lot of irregularities and
fraudulent practices. Usually land sales are executed through a deed
document and is recorded in the land registry of the particular area
and also in the Department of Registrar of Documents of Sri Lanka. At
present all such land sale records are not computerized in Sri Lanka
and this is one of the negative areas to the economy of Sri Lanka.
Immediate steps should be taken to expeditiously implement the land
sale computerization system in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile strategically the country will benefit if all land sales are
carried out through a "Land Exchange of Sri Lanka" This land
exchange must be located in Colombo, and branches of the exchange must
be opened in all provincial capitals of Sri Lanka such as Galle,
Rathnapura, Kandy, Badulla, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and
Trincomallee. All branches must be linked through telecommunications
links to the central computer installed in the Colombo main office of
the land exchange. Also different land registries located in the
provinces should be equipped with an online computer system and must be
linked to the provincial branch of land exchange's main computer
system located in the main city of the province. Thus when a land
transaction takes place in the provinces automatically the provincial
branch computer system is updated and thereafter the computer system in
main office of the land exchange in Colombo will be updated.
Next in line the main central computer system in the main office of the
land exchange in Colombo should be linked to the Internet via a
dedicated telecommunication line. The web site should provide an
interface to people to login to the system and find out about various
matters of land related issues.
For an example before buying a piece of land the buyer should be able
to insert the particular folio number in the land deed document and
find out historical ownership records of the such lands, etc.
This will reduce frauds as well.
Also the land exchange will facilitate people to trade their lands at
the highest price. Similar to the Colombo Stock Exchange the land
exchange will allow the sale of lands where the prices are set as per
the demand and supply. Also a main trading board may be set up in the
Colombo main office and also provincial braches of the land exchange.
This will facilitate emergence of an official and land broker network
as well similar to share brokers in the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Rohan Wickremasinghe
Colombo 09