Land Reforms Commission DG Removed Following COPE Revelations of Major Irregularities

Director General of the Land Reforms Commission (LRC), Padmasiri Liyanage, has been removed from his position following a series of financial and administrative irregularities revealed before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

According to Deputy Minister of Lands and Irrigation Susil Ranasinghe, Dineka Jayasuriya has been appointed as the Acting Director General of the Commission.

A recent audit report issued by the National Audit Office disclosed that the LRC had allocated 49 acres and 35.64 perches of land—divided into 20-perch plots valued at just Rs. 1,000 per perch—to 396 of its own officers.

The audit further revealed that employees with five years of continuous service had been given these plots between 2009 and 2023 under the same unusually low valuation scheme.

During the COPE session held on 24 July, members raised serious questions about these irregularities and other questionable land transactions by the Commission.

COPE also found that the LRC had transferred 25 acres of land to a private real estate company at an astonishingly low price of Rs. 28.72 per perch, totalling just Rs. 101,109 for the entire property.

The revelations have raised significant public concern over the misuse of state land and the lack of proper oversight within the Commission.