Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads: - Displacement Solutions

Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads 30as general administrative procedures, including, the timeframe for registration, the appearance of requiredwitnesses to registration, relevant fees and penalties for non-registration.In 1921, a series of laws relating to the then capital city, Rangoon, were approved. The first of these, the RangoonDevelopment Trust Act (1921), created the Trustees for the Development of the City of Rangoon (The Board).The Board includes representatives from the National Housing and Town and Country Planning Board, the port ofRangoon, the Municipal Corporation of the City of Rangoon as well as representatives appointed by the Presidentof Rangoon. The powers and duties of the Board (subject to the control of the President) include undertakingworks, the improvement, expansion and development of the City and the ability to purchase and hold immovableproperty. The Act extends the application of the Land Acquisition Act so that the President (on behalf of theBoard) is empowered to acquire land for the purposes of the Act. The Act was augmented one year later by theCity of Rangoon Municipal Act (1922) which provides for rules and procedures related to municipal issues ofthe City of Rangoon. The duty of carrying out the provisions of the Act was vested in the Municipal Corporationof the City of Rangoon (The Corporation). The Act provides for the constitution of the Corporation and providesfor relevant powers and duties, including, for example, water-works, registration of births and deaths, vaccination,markets, lodging houses and public parks. The Corporation is also vested with discretionary duties, includingmaternity homes and schools (with certain limitations).State powers to control the HLP sector were further increased under the Cantonments (House Accommodation)Act (1923) which provides for State appropriation of houses situated in cantonments. Under the Act, thePresident has the power to declare the Act operative in any cantonment or part of any cantonment, wherebyevery house situated in such operative cantonment is liable to appropriation by the Government. Where a militaryofficer states that he is unable to secure suitable accommodation for himself or his mess and where no suitablehouse belonging to Government is available, the Act provides for state appropriation of housing. The Act regulatesthe procedure and rules in such cases, including, vacation of the house, liability for repairs to the house, therequired notice to be served, the annual rent to be paid and the option to sell the house to the state.In 1934, Burma became a separate colony of Britain. Between 1931 and 1941, the colonial government initiateda combined British and Burmese Land Committee that was primarily concerned with alleviating rural povertythrough land reform measures. Its stated goals were to slow down the rate of land alienation to absentee landlords,readjust tenancy laws and redistribute family-sized plots to farming households. The Land Purchase Act(1941) empowered the Government to purchase large, non-agricultural blocks at market prices for redistributionas family-sized plots to rural farming households. The Land Alienation Act (1941) was intended to reduce thespeed of land alienation by absentee landlords.Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the Custodian of Movable Property Act (1945) was passedin order to provide for the recovery and return to owners of movable property that was confiscated from themduring the war. The Act provided for the appointment of a Custodian of confiscated property and provided:“where owing to circumstances arising out of the war an owner of movable property relinquished possessionthereof within the Union of Burma, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that he has continued to bethe owner of such property and that he has had no intention of abandoning the same or any rights thereto”.The Act has clear importance in creating precedence for any eventual HLP restitution programme. The Actfurther provides that no proceedings (civil or criminal) would be instituted: “in respect of any movable propertypossession of which was relinquished by the owner thereof owing to circumstances arising out of the war againstany person who has come into possession of that property if such person delivers up such property to the owneror to a Custodian within such [prescribed] period”.In 1947, the final two pieces of HLP legislation were adopted under colonial rule. The Public Property ProtectionAct (1947) governed the law relating to public property (including property belonging to the armed forces).The Act specifically created an obligation on persons who find abandoned or lost public property to not tamperwith and to report the finding of such property. Under the Act, the burden of proving authorised use of any publicproperty is on the person using the property. The Requisitioning (Emergency Provisions) Act (1947) providedfor the requisition of land and premises in certain circumstances. Specifically, the President, where necessary orexpedient, was empowered to requisition land and premises for a public servant whose work connected with theGovernment. With this latter Act, the pre-independence HLP law-making process came to a close.