The government is to devise a legal mechanism to deal with plantation companies - both public and private -- which have failed to pay lease rental dues amounting to Rs 242 million up to April 2009.
Plans are also underway to ask these companies to return land which they have neglected and not made any use of.
A senior official of the Ministry of Plantation Industries told the Sunday Times FT that of the 23 plantation companies only nine have paid the lease rental with arrears.
Plantations Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that all outstanding dues should be settled before June 30 and the plantation companies have responded positively to the Ministry’s call (about two weeks back) to pay the lease rental under the lease agreement. Since then Rs 70 million has been paid.
He added that the Ministry will deduct the amounts of such lease rentals from respective tea broker companies from those who fail to pay the dues before the stipulated deadline.
Three companies owned by Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) and the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation (SLSPC)-held plantations owe the government Rs. 83 million while the balance Rs .159 million must come from private sector plantations. |
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