The Hon. Mano Ganesan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I am glad to speak after Hon. Palani Thigambaram. The Minister is present, and I endorse much of his approach. You command 159 Members—a strong government—use that strength to uplift the long-neglected, marginalized Hill Country Tamil community. Not all Hill Country Tamils live on estates; perhaps 800,000–900,000 do, others live in towns, including Colombo. Registered estate workers are about 150,000; the rest live there but work elsewhere. Understand this reality.

¶ 02 Hon. Thigambaram was born at Madakumbura estate, knows the soil, rose to Provincial Council, Parliament, Cabinet—that is why we are together now. The TNA, Palani Thigambaram, Radhakrishnan—we are united. We do not hold the Presidency or PM’s office; we represent a marginalized community and must always struggle.

¶ 03 Your government includes MPs and a Cabinet Minister and a State Minister from this community. We welcomed them and wished them well. But some forget this is Parliament, not a campaign stage. Move from opposition mode to governance mode. You have power; act.

¶ 04 We began in 2015 the process to grant seven perches to estate families. Then-Minister Lakshman Kiriella approved it at our TPA’s request. Initially five perches were decided; we fought and got it to seven—perch by perch. Nothing comes easily. The Indian credit-line housing plan was long held up; we negotiated and signed an MoU when Hon. Digambaram was Minister.

¶ 05 We also renamed the Ministry then to “New Villages” because estates need villages; people must move from line rooms to communities. That name had meaning. We promoted individual houses, not flats; President Ranil asked about flats, and we said build those in Colombo, not estates where people need land-connection. With individual houses, later you can add a floor; the right to land is key—that is how a village forms.

¶ 06 We then established six new Pradeshiya Sabhas in the up-country—unimaginable then. For decades large populations in Ambagamuwa and Nuwara Eliya PS areas were under-represented while small areas elsewhere had councils. We fought hard—even banged the table in Cabinet—to get these councils approved.

¶ 07 We also moved to establish Divisional Secretariats for these. Norwood DS office was built; do not shift it to Hatton for officials’ convenience—government institutions exist for people, not for the ease of ministers or officers.

¶ 08 We amended the Pradeshiya Sabhas Act Clause 33 and through the 13th Amendment changes ensured funds can be allocated for estate area development by PSs—earlier a PS in Kandy was even dissolved for allocating to estates. Now most estate roads are under PSs, widely used by companies’ vehicles; impose reasonable levies and ensure companies contribute to their maintenance. The NVDA created for estates is under-utilized—revitalize it.

¶ 09 Hon. Radhakrishnan, as State Minister of Education, obtained Cabinet approval to allocate two acres each to 300 estate schools for playgrounds and buildings—these must be implemented.

¶ 10 Do not sermonize us; we represent poor, voiceless people. We will work with any government or President to serve them—but you must govern, not lament.

¶ 11 We also signed an MoU with Sajith Premadasa recognizing estate workers as stakeholders, not mere labourers—transform through cooperatives so they become shareholders. On wages, President Anura promised Rs. 1,700 daily; plan to deliver, though estate companies will resist. When in Opposition, your union leader Mr. Kithnan Selvaraj said they would not sign for less than Rs. 2,000; now where is that? We could say much, but we refrain. Ensure justice for estate communities.

¶ 12 Give me one more minute, Hon. Deputy Chair.

¶ 13 For 200 years they have suffered—125 under the white rulers, now under “black whites.” Stop crying and start working; we will support you and judge by results.

¶ 14 At the start you said former MPs and Ministers did nothing. No—check the lists of wine stores, bar permits, President’s Fund monies, cheap bungalows—our names are not there: not Mano, not Digambaram, not Radhakrishnan. We are not thieves and do not know how to steal—that is our “shortcoming.”

¶ 15 Thank you.