July 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Land and Land Development Janaka Bandara Tennakoon says that the government expects to amend the act of registration of land rights so the land disputes can be resolved fast.

Participating in an interview with the state-owned Sinhala daily The Silumina newspaper today, the Minister pointed out that a mere 30% of the lands people own is clear of land disputes.

The Minister also said that a land tribunal will be set up soon to resolve the land disputes in a short period of time.

Presently, the judicial procedures in district courts to resolve land disputes take years and people face severe hardship due to the lengthy procedures.

The Minister explained that under the 'Bim Saviya' programme, the data on the people's land are gathered. The work is now underway in 50 divisional secretariats and will be completed in all 320 divisional secretariats by 2015.