The Hon. Mano Ganesan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I listened to my friend Hon. Nipuna Arachchi. He cited Ronnie de Mel—good. Earlier, Hon. Nishantha Perera of Galle spoke.

¶ 02 We see the NPP Government now considering the open economy and moving along that path. But there is some reluctance to openly accept it—some embarrassment. Hon. Nishantha said the Opposition tells you not to talk history. Not true. We say: look at history to correct mistakes and go forward. The JVP also has a dark history—do not hide it; we all do. Do not blame a “76-year curse.” In those 76 years there was much development too. If you insist on a curse, take responsibility for 51% of it yourselves.

¶ 03 They spoke of Hambantota and Trincomalee. On the Trincomalee oil tanks, the subject Minister stood and clarified it is in your manifesto—indeed. But remember: your own party’s General Secretary Tilvin Silva once led protests against this. You have now changed—fine; move forward. Similarly on Hambantota.

¶ 04 You have presented your maiden Budget. We do not demand instant solutions to everything. My friend Hon. Nipuna Arachchi says the foundation is laid—good; but ensure the foundation is strong. If it is weak, everything fails. That is all we ask. I will continue in Tamil.

¶ 05 When the Hon. President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented this maiden Budget, he spoke of the backward, low-income, struggling people. I wish to draw attention to the most backward community socially, economically, culturally, and politically: the plantation people of the hill country. He knows this.

¶ 06 The Government says it has allocated Rs. 7,522 million for the hill country people—but let’s examine it. For housing, Rs. 3,500 million is cited; in truth, that is an Indian Government commitment, not a fresh Sri Lankan allocation. Sri Lanka’s own provision is Rs. 767 million. For smart classrooms, Rs. 600 million is said to be allocated—again an Indian commitment previously made. For plantation infrastructure, Rs. 1,800 million is allocated by Sri Lanka. For the Estate Sector Community Empowerment program, Rs. 650 million is provided. For the New Villages Development Authority (Nuwara Eliya—NALEDDA), only Rs. 50 million is allocated. For the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Hall—zero. For technical training for hill country youth—despite claims, I see no allocation; the Minister should clarify where it is.

¶ 07 Comparing all items: of the Rs. 7,522 million, Rs. 4,100 million—56%—is from Indian commitments; only Rs. 3,422 million (approx.) is from the Sri Lankan Government. Under the “Good Governance” Government, through engagements with PM Narendra Modi, EAM Jaishankar, and Indian High Commissioners, we secured the 10,000-house programme; of the 14,000 Indian-funded hill country houses, 4,000 were due to late Arumugam Thondaman; subsequently, with Thondaman’s successor Minister Thondaman/then Minister Thambiah Thigambaram, the work progressed. The credit for securing those Indian-funded 14,000 houses lies with us who negotiated and presented the hill country’s plight.

¶ 08 Even the Rs. 600 million for smart classrooms is from an earlier Indian commitment. So of the stated Rs. 7,522 million, 56% is Indian-funded. I thank the Indian Government for that.

¶ 09 Present here are Hon. Ministers Ramalingam Chandraseker, Saroja Savithri, Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep, and three other MPs—six parliamentarians from the hill country. While they represent the whole nation, as hill country representatives they have a duty to that community. I ask all six to stop blaming past MPs and Ministers of the hill country during election times and to look forward.

¶ 10 The Tamil Progressive Alliance has not been idle. After 2015, we created six new Pradeshiya Sabhas in Nuwara Eliya District—no small feat. PR-level devolution is as important as national power-sharing. In my view, each Pradeshiya Sabha should have its own Divisional Secretariat; we laid the foundation by Gazette. Yet when new Secretariats were created in Ratnapura and Galle, on ethnic bias Nuwara Eliya was denied. Please correct this.

¶ 11 We also secured Cabinet approval to grant seven perches freehold to estate residents—first time as formal policy—which was later raised to ten perches. Ten perches is now recognized as a house lot in the hills, and individual houses have been built—declared as “Hill Country Tamil Villages.” These elected Pradeshiya Sabhas should receive funds for estate development. Previously, under the law, hill Pradeshiya Sabhas could not allocate to estate areas; we amended Section 33 of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act to grant authority to develop estate roads and areas for their voters. Do not forget this—use it.

¶ 12 We also created a dedicated Authority for Hill Country Development. It has significant purpose and powers, but this time it is given only Rs. 50 million. What can be done with that? I worry the Government does not grasp its mandate or history.

¶ 13 Further, for about 300 estate schools, we arranged to acquire up to two acres per school (or nearby land if needed) for school needs. The hill country people… (continues)