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New housing for 200,000 workforce in plantations within next 5 years - Minister Kiriella

The entire 200,000 workforce in the plantation industries will be provided with new housing within the next five years under the improvement of workers' living environment programme, said the Minister of Plantation Industries, Lakshman Kiriella during the week-end.

Minister Kiriella was addressing a meeting at Pussellawa to inaugurate the Re-roofing Plantation Reform Project by distributing roofing sheets to estates to be used for estate workers' houses.

He said that an allocation of Rs. 115 million with foreign funding plus Rs. 38 million from 22 plantation companies would be spent on re-roofing 8,000 worker houses in 14 plantation districts and these plantation companies will undertake the implementation of the re-roofing programme. It would be closely monitored by the Plantation Ministry and it had been scheduled to be completed by November this year.

Minister Kiriella explained that plantation workers engaged in production on estates and smallholdings make a significant contribution to the national income and foreign exchange earnings.

Despite this contribution to the national economy, estate workers' living conditions continue to be backward.

Minister Kiriella stressed "with these social welfare programmes we are determined to improve their socio-economic condition and facilitate their integration into the mainstream of Sri Lankan Life."

During the week-end Minister Kiriella handed over roofing sheets to the estates of Pussellawa Plantations Ltd. and the estates belonging to Kahawatte Plantations Ltd. The Minister observed that roofing sheets worth Rs. 135 million were being distributed through the Plantation Housing and Social Welfare trust which aims at improving the socio-economic conditions of the plantation workers, and also to bring their health and sanitary facilities up to the standards of modern community life.

He added "most of the estate workers live in barrack type line rooms. Sometimes two or three families live in one line room. The main objective of the Housing and Social Welfare Trust is to remove the negative image of the estate workers and bring them into the mainstream of national life. The government is grateful to this Trust for its assistance. It is funded mainly by international donors and the money is well spent keeping to its objectives.

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