The Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by MP Mano Ganesan has presented a six-point alternative proposal on the government’s decision to draft legislation to formally designate areas occupied by Plantation Workers as new settlement villages.
The proposal was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe during a discussion with TPA members on the government’s cabinet paper titled “Establishment of New Settlement Villages in the Plantation Sector”.
The TPA, including its leader MP Mano Ganesan, and members, MPs Palani Digambaran, Velu Kumar, and Mylvaganam Udayakumar submitted the proposal to the President.
Taking to ‘X’’, MP Mano Ganesan said a six-point alternative proposal was submitted rejecting the government’s decision to declare estate “Line-Rooms” as “Villages”.
“President Ranil Wickramasinghe invited the TPA to discuss his cabinet memo, ‘Establishment of New Settlement Villages in the Plantation Sector’. Attending the discussion as a responsible party, we welcomed any move in principle to de-link the lives of plantation peasants from the modern slavery clutches of the plantation employers. But we cannot accept the 200-year-old British-built ‘Line Rooms’ being declared as ‘Villages’,” he said in a message on ‘X’.
MP Mano Ganesan further said the TPA urged the President to end the 200-year-old geographical isolation of estate workers who live in “Line-Room” housings, similar to cow barns, located in the hills away from the rest of the communities.
“We wanted our people, who are Sri Lankans today, to be brought down to a location close to the Highways so this community enters the national mainstream,” he said.
The following is the 06-point alternative proposal of the TPA presented to the President;
(1) Provide Housing land plots to our people, geographically within reach from the closest national highway with a maximum “reach” of 3km.
(2) The extent of Land plots shall match with such allocation practices in the particular DS Division.
(3)The ownership deeds shall be with the same legal status as what’s being given to villagers in the other parts of the country.
(4)We propose that the deeds be given to the name of the woman head of the family.
(5)Every married couple shall be considered as a Family & every family shall be entitled to receive land for housing.
(6)Those who can construct their houses shall go ahead to construct their own houses and the others who are in need can be accommodated in the housing schemes supported by the government projects and funding from India and other international agencies.
The move comes after it was reported this week that Cabinet approval was 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.
A special discussion in this regard was held at the Presidential Secretariat, on Wednesday under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, during which it was announced that all parties had agreed on the proposal to enact the new legislation. (Newswire)