A fundamental principle of justice is that equal treatment in unequal circumstances can produce unjust outcomes. The government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recognised this principle when it provided an unprecedented daily subsidy to Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers in the 2026 budget. In doing so it acknowledged that structural constraints in the plantation sector had led them to being denied them a long overdue wage increase. Cyclone Ditwah has now exposed again structural constraints in disaster relief and resettlement. The recovery process therefore presents an opportunity for the government to once again address the key constraint that has led to long standing injustice while rebuilding communities affected by the disaster.
Most Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers do not own the land on which they live or the houses they occupy which are managed by both state and plantation companies due to historical reasons. Due to this factor, they have been unable to access relief that the government has made available to other citizens affected by the same disaster. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the government announced relief measures ranging from Rs 25,000 for cleaning damaged houses to Rs 5 million for rebuilding destroyed homes. Access to this support is however linked to land and housing ownership, a condition that systematically excludes plantation workers.
At a recent discussion on post cyclone rebuilding hosted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, it was noted that adequate land is available within plantation areas that can be allocated for housing. In recent years, significant areas of plantation land have been used for other economic purposes, including tourism, renewable energy and livestock farming. The allocation of plantation land for such activities demonstrates that land can be released where policy decisions permit. In addition, official assessments presented to Parliament and reviews conducted at ministry level have repeatedly acknowledged that substantial areas of plantation land remain underutilised or unproductive. Estimates run into tens of thousands of acres. These findings suggest that land availability is not the primary constraint.
The National Peace Council calls for the setting up of a land commission to facilitate the vesting of land ownership rights with Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers in their resettlement process so that post cyclone recovery is fair, inclusive and consistent with the principles of justice. The government, under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has publicly committed itself to equal treatment and non-discrimination for all citizens. In the post-cyclone context, these commitments require targeted and timely governmental action for the sake of justice to a community that was discriminated against from the very beginning of the country’s Independence when they were denied their citizenship rights.
Governing Council
The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.