Minister, banks discuss loans for estate community

Two of Sri Lanka’s banks have agreed to provide housing loans for the estate community to build houses once they are given land ownership, Minister of Estate Infrastructure Jeevan Thondaman said.

“…They are to utilize this land as collateral not just for housing but for their children’s education and so many others,” Thondaman said this week.

“We have spoken to two priority banks in the country, and they have agreed that once land rights are given, they will be eligible for a housing loan at a subsidized rate for the estate dwellers.”

Earlier this year, Thondaman said that only 8 percent of families in the plantation sector own homes compared with the national average of 86 percent.

However, Thondaman said that for those living on estates to have houses, their livelihoods should increase, as electricity and water costs also come with home ownership.

“There have been many instances where estate workers who build houses sell their houses and have returned to the land.”