A 10 Year National Plan of Action (NPA) 2015-2025 to support the social development of the 260,000 families in the plantation regions has been initiated by the Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure Development with technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka.

The key objectives of the NPA are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the plantation areas, especially in the estate sector.

Given the national importance of this programme, a consultative workshop on formulating the NPA was held recently in Colombo under the patronage of Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Plantation Infrastructure Development Palani Digambaram, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning Dr. Harsha de Silva, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy and UNDP Sri Lanka Country Director Joern Sorensen.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the workshop, the Plantation Infrastructure Development Ministry Secretary V. Sivagnanasothy has said that despite the substantial contribution of the plantation sector to economic development, the plantation workers are the most disadvantaged social group in the country.

The comprehensive 10-year NPA is expected to be finalized by end of July 2015, reports state.