The Hon. Jeevan Thondaman

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, first I thank Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha for bringing today’s adjournment motion, giving us a chance to discuss the government’s first year.

¶ 02 Before I begin, I draw the attention of the Hon. Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure to a matter: last night a fire broke out at a tea factory in Lakshapana Estate employing about 772 workers. I trust the government will act.

¶ 03 A year has passed under this government. There is praise and there is criticism. Today I do not speak as “Jeevan Thondaman” but as a young man from the hill country. I recall the President’s “Hatton Declaration” during the campaign, covering land and housing for plantation people, public service access, education, health, wages, and plantation companies’ conduct. Let us review.

¶ 04 On land and housing: a year ago some hill-country representatives challenged me here, saying they would build 4,500 houses in a year. I said then they could not lay even 400 bricks. How many houses have been built?

¶ 05 Under the previous government we allocated Rs. 4,000 million for issuing land grants. I stated clearly in this House that land ownership and house ownership are different. The Minister has invited me to a function on the 12th—thank you—but the public must know what it is. The invitation says you will issue “entitlements” for 2,000 houses under a 10,000-house programme. But what you are giving is not land grants; it is a certificate saying a house is allotted under this government—no legal force. You will hand about 2,088 such certificates, but land grants only to 237 persons—and on the day, to just 10. I know because I initiated the processing for those 237 grants when we planned about 1,000 under the previous administration. Even then I said: this is a house-ownership scheme, not land-ownership.

¶ 06 If you claim otherwise, correct me. You and I both know it. We have said repeatedly: house title and land title are different. If the government builds a house and only then gives a title, that is not a “solution”; that is merely duty. Land titles must be given to all citizens—Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim—where they live. If you grant 10 perches where people currently reside, they will build their own houses. The planned event is a cosmetic exercise, not a solution.

¶ 07 Your “Hatton Declaration” also pledged to bring public services closer to people. Then why did you try to close the Norwood DS office and move it to Hatton—only to retreat under public protest? It still lacks adequate resources and cannot even lay its foundation for expansion.

¶ 08 On NEVIDA—the New Villages Development Authority for the Plantation Region—you wrote you would amend the law to strengthen services; you did not say you would abolish it. The President reportedly assured Hon. Mano Ganesan it would not be closed, yet a Presidential Secretariat letter lists it among institutions to be closed, saying only that the decision would be “reviewed,” not reversed.

¶ 09 NEVIDA is crucial. As long as PHDT remains under plantation companies, genuine development and rights will not come to the hills. PHDT is driven by company interests; NEVIDA is state-driven and removes middlemen.

¶ 10 Go to the plantation companies’ websites: they boast of building 44,000 houses and more. In truth, they sit on PHDT’s Board, and works are done with Treasury funds—taxpayers’ money—not company money. Hence the need to use NEVIDA.

¶ 11 On services: you promised more Grama Niladhari divisions in the hills, but nothing has moved. On health and education: we sought government takeover of 456 EMAs; we had Cabinet approval. Schools got some development but lack teachers. We initiated STEM teacher training, brought teachers from India and trained thousands; now stopped. For 1,197 creches serving 26,000 children we provided free breakfast; after six months, stopped. What then has been delivered in a year?

¶ 12 On plantation companies’ conduct: you pledged to stop the outgrower system and to audit hidden profits and hold companies accountable. Yet you have not done so. You vowed to reallocate estates of loss-making companies to others. Today 16 of 22 RPCs claim losses. If you have the will, take their estates and give them to others.

¶ 13 On wages: I will not criticize much; I know how hard it is to raise pay. I secured two major wage increases in history. But one question: you have determined a Rs. 1,700 daily wage. How will you pay it? Will the Rs. 1,350 basic increase, or will the balance be incentives? Will it be via a collective agreement or Wage Board? To me, this is not a “Hatton Declaration”—it is a Hatton Disaster.