THE LAND FACTOR IN COMMUNITY RESETTLEMENT: TSUNAMI RESETTLEMENT PROJECTS -HAMBANTOTA

Abstract

Resettlement refers to the process by which individuals or a group of people leave spontaneously or unspontaneously their original settlement sites to resettle in new areas where they can begin new trends of life by adapting themselves to the biophysical, social and administrative system of the new environment. However, prima-face problem in most of these resettlements are that after some time these resettlements is being turning into unproductive informal communities, though the resettling agencies claim success with respect to their community resettlement projects. Henceforth, this paper attempts to clarify this paradox from land market point of view which is also the novelty of this study. Due to several reasons, Hambantota tsunami resettlement sites were selected to study the land market functioning by collecting required data through primary surveys, focus group discussions and the reconnaissance surveys. In particular to the selected site rights and obligations on alienated lands would depend on free grants issued under the Crown Land Ordinance no 08 of 1947. Due to unclear land title the land market analysis indicated several informalities and inefficiencies that would have been affected to the stability of the resettlement.