Areas occupied by plantation workers to be designated as new settlement villages

Colombo, July 18 (Daily Mirror)- The government is planning to formally designate areas occupied by plantation workers on state-owned plantation lands managed by the State Plantation Corporation and regional plantation companies as new settlement villages, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

The Cabinet has approved the proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to identify areas occupied by plantation workers and draft legislation to formally designate these areas as new settlement villages.

A special discussion in this regard was also held at the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the PMD said.

All parties have expressed agreement on the timely proposal to enact legislation declaring areas where plantation workers dwell within state-managed plantations, overseen by the State Plantation Corporation and regional companies, as new villages.

Parliamentarian Mano Ganesan emphasised the crucial need to secure land rights for current plantation dwellers under this initiative, submitting a corresponding proposal to the President.

The President recommended initiating the legislative process by consulting regional plantation companies and proposed the formation of a committee comprising parliamentarians representing the plantation communities and relevant stakeholders to oversee the process.