Estate sector community housing: Government to build houses for affected workers
Estate sector community housing: Government to build houses for affected workersIndian aid and local funds to support reconstruction TPA urges targeted recovery for Malaiyaha community The Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure has announced that it would directly oversee the construction of new houses for the estate sector community workers affected by Cyclone Ditwah.Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy subject Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep said the Government would directly manage the housing initiative. “We are going to take care of the housing facilities of the estate sector community ourselves. We have received Indian aid specifically for the estate sector community, and we will be using that,” he added.
He explained the first phase of the project would involve identifying suitable land for construction, with recommendations sought from the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO). “We will work to build houses near the relevant plantations to ensure the industry is not disrupted. If the NBRO does not authorise the construction of houses in the estates where the affected people lived, we will move to the next available plantation area.”
Regarding funding, he said that each house in the estate sector community affected by the disasters is expected to receive Rs. 2.8 million from the Indian donation, supplemented by Rs. 400,000 from the Sri Lankan Government.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) has requested an urgent meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to discuss issues affecting the estate sector community hit by the recent natural disasters. In a letter to the President, the Alliance’s leader and parliamentarian, Mano Ganesan, said that residents of hilly regions—including Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, and Matale—were among the worst affected.
He added, “The Malaiyaha community (people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka associated with plantations) continues to face comparatively low and, in some sectors, negative human development indicators, particularly in land ownership, housing, education, health, and poverty alleviation. This community requires a differentiated and targeted approach during the recovery and rebuilding phase.”
