• Stakeholder discussions on balancing land apportionment for living and poultry farming with primary cultivation 

The Ministry of Plantations and Community Infrastructure stated that a final decision on the extent of land to be allocated to families living in estate houses will be made only after broad discussions with all the relevant parties, including the civil society and trade unions (TUs).

During the previous Government led by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a programme was proposed to award 10 perches of land on a freehold basis to every family living in the plantation-based areas.

The Daily Morning queried Plantation and Community Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep as to whether the Government would go ahead with that programme, to which he said that some families are now claiming that 10 perches of land is not sufficient. "People living in plantation-based areas are engaged in livelihoods such as poultry farming. They need some space for those activities as well. Some are now saying that 10 perches are not enough for them."

On the other hand, he said that if the Government is to provide them with larger extents of land, the extent of the cultivated land in the relevant areas would reduce. "For these reasons, we cannot decide on the extent of land that can be provided to the people. It is only after broader discussions with all the parties such as the civil society and the TUs can we come to a final decision. The necessary discussions will commence soon."

Former Minister of Estate Infrastructure Jeeven Thondaman said early last year (2024) that plots of land would be provided to the plantation based families after identifying suitable lands and beneficiaries. He said that over 200,000 families would benefit from the programme, that a secretariat would be set up to coordinate the process, and that Rs. 4 billion had been allocated by the then Government for the initiative.