UDA vested with draconian powers

This article is to educate the general public how a group of present- day Brahmins, who assume they are leaders in Urban Development are trying to take over one of the oldest professions. Christened as the Urban Development Authority, they are spreading their tentacles all over the country, claiming to be lords of every landowner, who should obey their rules when it comes to development.

Surveying is one of the oldest professions in the world. Without a surveyor in the lead any form of development cannot be commenced. Survey profession in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) commenced in 1800, with the inauguration of the Survey Department, by proclamation by the then British Governor Fredric North on 2nd August 1800. Since then the Survey Department functioned independently, controlling the entire survey profession in the country under the command of the Surveyor General. Every land, be it state or private, comes under the purview of the Survey Department. Surveying of land is carried out by surveyors authorized by the Surveyor General, under strict control of regulations and procedures laid down in print, and revised time to time considering new technical developments.

In 2002, by an Act of Parliament, the Survey Act No. 17, the Land Survey Council was vested with the control of the entire Survey Profession, including the Survey Department with Surveyor General as its ex-officio Chairman. The seven -member Council consists of three members from the Survey Department, three from Surveyors’ Institute of Sri Lanka, which is the Professional body of Licensed Surveyors and one independent member nominated by the University Grants Commission. All professional and technical procedures on survey matters are exclusively regulated by the Surveyor General and Land Survey Council.

Every professional surveyor who possesses an Annual Practicing Licence is authorised to carry out any survey of land in Sri Lanka, obeying the existing laws governing land matters in the country, such as Court Commission Surveys, surveys for conveyance of deeds, engineering and construction surveys to name a few.

The Urban Development Authority, also a public organisation established by an act of parliament, in the guise of Urban Development and Town Planning issued, a set of regulations by Gazette Extraordinary No. 2235/54 dated 2021-07-08

These regulations recognises the UDA as the sole regulator of subdivision and amalgamation of any land and require the potential developers to obtain UDA permission. Non-compliance results in legal action.

According to the regulations stipulated in the gazette, the UDA has control over various fields such as engineering, architecture and surveying.

I wish to discuss how these regulations affect the Survey profession. Since 2019, the UDA has introduced these regulations by way of articles on the sly. Sensing danger, many professional bodies including that of surveyors have protested. Discussions were held between the UDA and the Land Survey Council, Survey Department an well as the Surveyors Institute. During the discussions all suggestions by the UDA detrimental to the survey profession were taken up and the UDA undertook to look into them before preparing the final draft. But the regulations were published on 2021-07-08 in the government Gazette without the consent of connected professionals.

Under these regulations the common land owner becomes the victim of the circumstances in the name of urban development. He will have to partition his plot of land in his village, each allotment encompassing more than six perches. Farmers owning paddy land too have to obtain permission from UDA to divide their land. When implementing these regulations several issues will arise, particularly when land subdivision is carried out under the Partition Act. Even the Court decision conveyed in a Partition Case should wait until the UDA puts their seal of approval on the partition decree, before the Court Commissioner performs the final partition on ground.

The UDA has overstepped its authority by issuing instructions devised by them to the surveyor who alone is answerable to the Land Survey Council and the Surveyor General on survey related matters, be they technical or general. The UDA in their fold does not seem to have professionals who can evaluate and advise on matters pertaining to each profession independently, so that the end result should benefit the taxpayer other than him being harassed by implementing various rules and regulations he is already burdened with.

Now that the hornet’s nest has been stirred up, all interested parties are taking on the UDA to answer for their action for justification. Those from the Survey profession, namely the Land Survey Council, Surveyor General and the Surveyors’ Institute of Sri Lanka, have lodged their protest while contemplating Legal action if everything else fails.

If they think they can give legal status to those regulations, the development process in the country will be plunged into chaos. While the government is desperately calling for foreign and local investments, land issues can surely discourage the potential investors, who already complain about bureaucratic intervention.

A CONCERNED

SURVEYOR