Court
halts JEDB estate lease
A controversial attempt to lease a tea estate under the Janatha
Estates Development Board( JEDB) to a private investor has been
halted by the Court of Appeal after the Ceylon Planters' Society
filed a petition against the move. The court has issued an interim
order restraining Minister of Plantations Industries Lakshman Kiriella
and the JEDB from leasing the Gallebodde Estate in Nawalapitiya
to Multi Crop Planters (Pvt) Ltd.
The order was
made consequent to a petition filed by the Ceylon Planters' Society
and the superintendent of the Gallebodde Estate alleging that the
move went against the decision of the Cabinet's Economic Policy
Committee and the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC). The
JEDB and SPC which control the remaining state plantations, have
asked the Treasury for funds due to to cash flow difficulties, while
planters and labour unions have voiced concern over the state of
affairs at the JEDB and SPC, and asked the government to intervene
and take over the management of the two organisations.
The Economic
Reforms Committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
has decided that the debt-ridden State Plantations Corporation (SPC)
and the JEDB should be restructured by the PERC.
The PERC has
requested the two organisations not to dilute the estates pending
its plans for restructuring, but had suggested they sell some of
their non-core land assets to raise funds. The management of the
two organisations has also been criticized for trying to launch
a joint property development project on prime land at Colombo 7
while it was recommended that they sell off their assets to raise
funds in order to settle their debts.
The Ceylon
Planters' Society said the petitioners of the Gallebode Estate case
contended the attempt to hand over the estate to a private firm
was "contrary to government policy, unlawful and ultra vires
the powers of the JEDB".
They argued
that the move would cause career planters on the estate irreparable
harm, loss and damage and will deny the career planters elevation
to higher positions of managerial responsibility, frustrate their
legitimate expectations and deny them job security. |