Land & Legal Division A Land & Legal Unit was established in 2011 as a separate unit under the Assets Management Division to deal with the increasing number of encroachments and unauthorized use of state-owned reservations for irrigation works, land and buildings by various parties. Most of the work carried out by this unit concerning the aforementioned illegal activities eventually led to legal action. Therefore, in the early stages, this unit functioned with the support of the legal officer of the Ministry. Since this unit also performed the tasks related to legal works, it was named as the Land and Legal Division in the year 2013. The functions presently performed by the Land and Legal Division are as follows:
1. Actions under the Irrigation Ordinance and State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act to protect the reserved state land for irrigation works, flood protection works and various other structures from encroachments and unauthorized use, liaising with the Regional Directors of Irrigation and Divisional Irrigation Engineers.
2. Actions under State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act to protect the state land used by the Irrigation Department from encroachments and unauthorized use liaising with Regional Directors of Irrigation and Divisional Irrigation Engineers.
3. Actions under the Government Quarters (Recovery of Possession) Act to protect the Government Quarters to prevent unauthorized occupation and use by unauthorized persons.
4. Providing necessary legal assistance in cases where requests are made in certain administrative and accident-related matters.
5. Coordination with the Attorney General's Department as and when required in respect of the above matters.
6. Making relevant recommendations in carrying out various development works by external parties in lands adjacent to rivers, tanks, canals and other such water sources.
7. Making recommendations regarding the release of government lands used by the Irrigation Department to other parties.
8. Possession of state lands currently used by the Irrigation Department to the Department.
9. Acquisition of lands for departmental purposes.
10. Carrying out activities related to an Information Officer / Designated Information Officer regarding the requests made under the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016.
11. Providing information regarding the inquiries submitted to the Commission under the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission Act No. 21 of 1996 related to the Land & Legal Division.
12. Replying to the queries related to the Land & Legal Division submitted to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Irrigation. The Land and Legal Division functions under the Chief Engineer (Land and Legal) under the supervision of the Director (Assets Management) with the direction of the Additional Director General of Irrigation (Systems Management). A legal officer is also attached to the division since the year 2022.
Head of Section
Chief Engineer