Govt. to hand over lands of loss-making tea plantation companies to smallholders

The government is planning to hand over the lands belonging to loss-making plantation companies to tea smallholders as a pilot project, a statement by the President’s Media Division said.

According to PMD, 10 out of the 20 major plantation companies are currently inoperative. It has also been pointed out that the production capacity of plantation companies has been on the decline in an environment where small tea estates achieve higher productivity.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today instructed officials to identify causes for losses and inactivity of these companies within a short period of time and provide permanent solutions to their issues.

President Rajapaksa yesterday announced plans to acquire lands with gem deposits belonging to plantation companies for the benefit of the mining industry.