Valuation Department – a sick giant in deep slumber

Seventy-nine months – six years and seven months – for a file to be cleared by the slack officers in the Valuation Department. Finally, after much effort, in June 2023, a lady officer was cajoled to look into it. The file that was in hiding was retrieved from some deep dungeon and a clerk was directed to work on it. In July 2023, the completed file was sent to the Divisional Secretariat, Kotte. The formal valuation was sent to me – and I detected a serious error in the valuation as the extent of my land given in the document was totally erroneous. Surveyor General official document following surveying the land in 2017, has certified my ownership as 0.0337 HECTARES.

(1 HECTARE IS EQUAL TO 395.3686 PERCHES)

On this basis, the extent of my block of land is 13.3239 PERCHES.

This is the only block of land I own. It is situated off Temple Road in the vicinity of the Open University. I was notified that it had been earmarked for acquisition for Flood Control Project Development purposes by the SLRDC. For the valuation that has to precede the granting of compensation for my land, I had to go through formalities such as repeatedly surveying the land, obtaining legal documents to prove my ownership and several other documents and information connected with it. These procedures have cost me a large sum of money as well as time and hard work. After several months of tedious labour running from pillar to post, SLRDC was satisfied that the requirements are in order.

SLRDC SENT DOCUMENTS TO VALUATION DEPARTMENT IN 2018

Thereafter, the documents were sent from SLRDC to the Valuation Department on January 2nd 2018—more than 6 years ago. The file has been lying on the desk of an officer through all these months. When inquiries were made in 2020 from time to time the officer dealing with my file was habitually late for work, not in her seat, absent for days due to illnesses like ear ache, etc. These were the frivolous excuses given for not attending to my file. She is currently transferred to an office in Maharagama.

Three reminders were sent by SLRDC to Valuation Department to expedite the valuation. Yet, the reminders were totally ignored.

Valuation Department after a very long period of 79 months, has woken up and has sent a valuation that shows the extent as 0.0337 PERCHES with a value stated as Rs.100,000 for the entire extent of 13.3239 Perches. This valuation is totally erroneous and quite suspicious as there seems to be a sinister move to put me off the track and carry out some underhand dealing. Where would anyone get even ONE perch of valuable land in Nawala for that amount?

This is a fraudulent valuation. My file was kept in hiding for over 6.5 years from 02 January 2018 to July 2023. I have been constantly trying to make the Valuation Department work on it – writing to them numerous letters, appeals and personally trying to meet the relevant officers but to no avail. I sent a formal complaint to the Chief Valuer. Never did I receive a response. This is the extremely slack, careless and inefficient manner in which the officers of the Valuation Department discharge their duties. This Department that handles money worth millions needs to be fully overhauled and the entire officers from top to bottom need a thorough cleansing. It is a hell hole of corruption.

I am writing this with great pain of mind and utter disappointment regarding the unexplained huge delay and final careless and fraudulent valuation that is being awarded to me. I am certainly not prepared to accept this minuscule award.

I was also notified that in the event that I do not accept the decision, I could appeal to a Reviews Board. I sent my appeal promptly under registered cover to the Reviewing Board in September 2023. In my appeal I stated that nowhere in the vicinity of Nawala so close to the Open University and other strategic places could one buy even one perch of land for Rs.100,000. This undervaluation shows some hidden agenda which I am certain of. The extent shown on the official valuation is incorrect. It is NOT .0337 Perches BUT .0337 HECTARES.

There are houses alongside mine and professionals residing in the adjoining blocks; this being a highly residential area in the heart of the city. My land has some trees and vegetation. At some moment in time, former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa had in a high-handed manner and without my knowledge or approval dug a trench across my land and another block bordering mine.

Since my appeal to the Reviewing Board, one year has also gone by and the appeals officer also is in deep slumber. I called a few times to see if the matter is being attended to and was vaguely told that they have sent it to SLRDC, Kotte for some further information. When I contacted SLRDC, I was told that the information had been sent promptly. Appeals section lady officer gave vague answers when called again. She is still silent. One does not know who is lying. These are state officials entrusted with providing responsible service to people. The Valuation Department hung onto my file for over 79 months (six and a half and more years) with absolutely nothing being done and now finally a blatant error in extent of the land.

Seventy-nine months is an awful lot of time to deal with many matters that are important to my life. I am sure that these comments of mine are shared by many others whose files are stagnating at the Valuation Department due to the negligence and lackadaisical attitude of the officers from the highest to the lowest in that department.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has an Augean task to clean up these filthy, foul- smelling stables, shake the sleeping officers from their deep slumber and get them to work as they should. Replies to letters, correspondence from the public have to be answered promptly is another duty these officers are bound to carry out. In this era of technology, emails could do the job.

When one surfs the website, there are many officers with high-flown credentials but sadly they do not seem to have control over those who hide files for whatever undisclosed reason. Over to the Chief and others in authority at the top to solve this problem of mine as I am at the mercy of slack and careless officers at the Valuation Department. In concluding, I wish to say that valuation means numbers and the officers need to be given basic lessons in Arithmetic, land and area extent conversion tables. They cannot and must not make glaring mistakes in cases such as mine.

M. P. Warusawithana

empeew@gmail.com