Cabinet approval has been given to the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to identify areas occupied by Plantation Workers on state-owned plantation lands managed by the State Plantation Corporation and regional plantation companies and to draft legislation to formally designate these areas as new settlement villages.
According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), a special discussion in this regard was held at the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (July 17) under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
All parties had agreed on the proposal to enact the new legislation, the PMD said.
Participating in the discussion, opposition MP Mano Ganesan emphasized the crucial need to secure land rights for current plantation dwellers under this initiative, submitting a corresponding proposal to the President.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe commenting on the matter underscored the government’s ongoing commitment to implementing programs that provide freehold land and housing rights to residents across villages, towns, and plantations.
Furthermore, President Wickremesinghe recommended initiating the legislative process by consulting regional plantation companies and proposed the formation of a committee comprising parliamentarians representing plantation communities and relevant stakeholders to oversee the process.
Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman, State Minister for Education Arvind Kumar, and MPs Mano Ganesan, Palani Thigambaram, Vadivel Suresh, Velu Kumar, M. Rameshwaran, and M. Udayakumar participated in the discussion. (Newswire)
