5 December 2023 12:00 am Views - 188
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda
The Attorney General yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the government has taken steps to provide registered permanent addresses to the estate community residents who do not possess a residential address over the past 200 years. Deputy Solicitor General Kanishka de Silva made these remarks when the Fundamental Rights petition filed by an estate worker seeking an order directing the authorities to grant registered permanent addresses to the estate community residents of all over the country came up before the Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel Lakshan Dias appearing for the petitioner informed the court that the estate Workers living in Sri Lanka are facing severe difficulties due to the lack of registered residential addresses allocated to their residences and this issue has not been addressed over the past 200 years.
Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya informed the court that the petitioner now can be satisfied with the measures taken by the government after 200 years.
Having considered the facts, the Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz and Justice Arjuna Obeysekera decided to terminate the case proceeding pertaining to the petition, reserving petitioner’s rights to re-open the case.
Petitioner Jeewarathnam Sureshkumar a resident of Muwankanda Waththa in Mawathagama filed this petition concerning the Estate Workers and their families living in Sri Lanka who are considered as citizens of this country but are equally aggrieved as the petitioner himself due to the lack of registered residential addresses allocated to their residences.
The petitioner had named the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Plantation Industries Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeewan Thondaman and several others as respondents.
The Petitioner states that the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) managed nearly 277 plantations and about 400,000 people reside in those plantations, all of whom do not possess a residential address.