The Sri Lanka Department of Railways has reclaimed a plot of land and a three-storey building in Nawalapitiya that had been used by the Mahindananda Aluthgamage Foundation under a lease arrangement for roughly 25 years.
Former minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had operated the Foundation and his Nawalapitiya Coordination Office from a 13.25-perch plot housing the three-storey building, with an adjacent 72.5-perch parcel also under the Foundation’s use, NewsFirst reported. Chamika Dharmathilaka, secretary of the Mahindananda Aluthgamage Foundation, formally handed the buildings and land back to Railway Department officials on Friday morning.
Dharmathilaka noted that a valid lease agreement remained in place for the property until 2028.
Authorities said they intend to use the reclaimed land for a public market and other community-benefit projects in Nawalapitiya. The handover follows a District Coordination Committee meeting in December 2025 at which officials were instructed to take steps within one month to reacquire the property for the Railway Department.
Aluthgamage, an SLPP MP and former Sports, Energy and Plantation Industries Minister, has been a recurring figure in accountability proceedings under the NPP government and has been a vocal critic of the administration’s spending reviews.
The reclaim is the latest in a series of moves by state agencies to recover institutional property held under long-running political-foundation leases. Other recent recoveries include cabinet-cleared steps to revisit ministerial residence allocations and audit office leasing arrangements.
