The Peoples Alliance for Right to Land(PARL) is alarmed by remarks made by the Secretary, Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, Mr. Prabath Chandrakeerthi, on December 11, 2024, proposing the construction of apartment-style housing as new housing for estate residents
PARL firmly opposes the Secretary's surprising suggestion that urban highrise-style housing is appropriate for the the Malaiyaha Tamils resident on estates, for the following reasons:
The demand from the Malaiyaha Tamil community for decades, based also on restitution for historic grievances, has been for housing on a minimum of 20 perches of land and access to agricultural land for food production and livelihood development. Ensuring the right to land for the landless Malaiyaha Tamil community is extremely important for ensuring their dignity and identity and supporting their livelihood and food security.
This proposal appears to be based on the flawed assumption that allocating land to the Malayaha people will reduce tea plantation lands, which is baseless and uninformed. Studies done by scholars from the Malaiyaha community, including by Attorney-at-Law Sukumaran Vijayakumar and Prof. S. C. Chandrabose, clearly indicate the availability of ample unutilised land to be distributed to families living in the tea plantations.
According to the 2018 Action Report[1] of the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure, and Community Development, 117,275 hectares of plantation land were not cultivated and identified as unutilised land. The report further included that the number of houses needed by the Malayaha community as approximately 186,298 houses, which number has slightly increased due to the expansion of families over the years since.
Accordingly to the above, if each family is to be given 20 perch of land the total land needed is 3,800,000 perches (190,000*20). Which is only 9,616 hectares. (1 hectare = 395.2 perches)
This 9616 hectares is only 8.20% of the land identified as unused in 2018 and constitutes merely 3.45% of plantation land.
Ensuring access to unused/uncultivated land for food production, dairy, and other agriculture-based production will be key to addressing the prolonged food insecurity, poverty, and lack of socio-economic development of the Malaiyaha community. By promoting the farmers to engage in an environmentally friendly, sustainable food production system in unused land through approaches such as agro forestry will not only ensure their food and livelihood security but will also provide much needed environmental sustainability for the hill country ecosystem.
This proposal sets back the dialogue on plantation land and housing by around 15 years. For many years Malaiyaha rights advocacy groups and organizations like the Movement for Land and Agriculture Reforms (MONLAR), Movement for Plantation People’s Land Rights (MPPLR), and People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) have advocated for land rights for the community. The debate has been on the extent of land and security of tenure for housing; and access to state-owned land currently leased to Regional Plantation Companies for livelihood diversification and household food consumption. The recent comment by the Secretary is a regressive attempt to turn back the clock on the consensus reached after many decades of struggle by the Malaiyaha Tamil community, which echoes the resistance from companies to housing rights for estate residents.
High-rise housing as a model has been proven to be a failed one, both locally and globally. Its implementation in Colombo by the Urban Development Authority since 2012 has resulted in relocated communities experiencing negative outcomes due to the built environment. Introducing such a flawed model to the Malaiyaha community is likely to exacerbate their socio-economic challenges rather than contribute to their upliftment or securing of their dignity. Further, there is much expertise and housing models that have been generated by architects and planners in Sri Lankan universities that would serve as more appropriate models. However, any housing model must have the informed and active participation and consent of the Malaiyaha community who will occupy these houses. We are deeply disheartened by the statement made by the Secretary. We urge the new government to stick to its pre-election manifesto commitment on estate housing, that is to provide financial and infrastructural support to enhance housing, water and sanitation facilities; and to allocate (estate) lands for the construction of permanent housing; and to develop affordable housing schemes in areas surrounding estates. In line with international standards and best practices, new housing for the Malaiyaha Tamil estate community must be designed in consultation with them, and in the context of the unique ecological environment of the Malaiyaham.