• Cites issues with soil erosion, impact on water resources   

The National Tea Planters' Association (NTPA) organisation has raised concerns that tea plantation lands in hill country areas are allegedly being cleared for vegetable cultivation without any environmental report being issued. The Association has accused that these plantations could lead to a series of future problems, arguing that the areas are not suited for such farming.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the Association’s Chairperson Saman Geeganage alleged that over 100 acres of tea plantations in areas including Bagawanthalawa, Nuwara Eliya, Shanthipura, and Badulla have been bulldozed to make way for vegetable cultivation. “These cultivations are not done with environmental approval. In the way the soil is prepared for vegetable cultivation, the soil erosion is higher. Easily, the soil washes off and gets stored in water sources. These will harm the water resources in the future. This fills the reservoirs and would cause landslides and other natural disasters,” he claimed. According to Geeganage, choosing vegetables over tea is driven by lower production costs, he stressed that these lands are not built for cultivations that require frequent activity on the soil. "These cultivations follow a rotational cycle. For instance, carrots are grown on a large area for one season, followed by a one-month fallow period before planting another vegetable. Soil tilling methods vary, often disrupting the soil structure. This type of cultivation leads to severe soil erosion and creates numerous problems for local residents." He further noted that while the Government has a target of 400 million kilograms in tea production for the year (2026), these developments would hinder the growth of the tea industry.

Deputy Plantation Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep was unavailable for comment.