Petition filed seeking compensation for farmers
Representatives of Samagi Jana Balawegaya and Polonnaruwa district farmers’ organizations filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court today (06) demanding that the Minister of Agriculture and other officials be ordered to immediately compensate the farmers whose crops were damaged in the 2021 Maha season due to the failure of the authorities to supply fertilizers on time.
The petition was filed by Samagi Jana Balawega General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Naleen Bandara, Kings Nelson and others, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Cabinet, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture have been named as respondents.
The petitioners point out that in the face of irregularities, over 700,000 acres of farm lands had been damaged during the 2021 Maha season costing the farmers over Rs. 41 billion in losses.
The petitioners noted that although the Cabinet had decided on January 24th and February 28th to pay compensation to the affected farmers, so far their compensation has not been paid.