Story 1
“I have my identity. But I have lost my birth certificate. When my mother fell seriously sick, I needed my EPF money to get medicine for her. To get the money through the estate, you need all the documents. It takes at least six months to get the cheque. The mudalali mahattaya prepared all the necessary documents, got me the money within a month. Since I had not taken any provisions on credit, he charged me only 7000 rupees.”
Sellamma (not her real name) who has been working on the estate since she was 12 years old, is not aware that this is blatant corruption. For 35 years she has slaved on the estate. Her whole EPF savings was 245,000 rupees. She paid 7,000 to the owner of a prominent business establishment in Badulla. She was desperately in need of money.
“Mudalali went to the bank with me, cashed the cheque and took the 7000 rupees. I begged of him to reduce at least 1000 rupees considering my mother’s grave illness. He just refused. What to do – at least I managed to save her with the money”, she sobbed.
Story 2
“Both my sons went to work in an illegal gem mine and were caught by the police and taken away. The lawyer wanted me to find 5000 rupees to get them released on bail. My sole possession was the EPF money. The estate told me I couldn’t take the money because I was less than fifty. The mudalali also told me first that because of my age I wouldn’t be able to take the money. I pleaded with him. He finally asked for my pass book and gave me a loan of 20,000 rupees. He gave me another 10,000 later. When the EPF money came, he kept the money and promised to give me 50,000 rupees more after deducting charges for preparing the documents, his own fees and the loan money and the interest. I know I spent too much but I can never forget the help he gave to save my two boys.”
With tear-filled eyes, “she” related the story pleading with us not to divulge any names.
Story 3
“Most people around here get the EPF money from the mudalali. Even if the documents are not complete, he attends to them and organises the money. When somebody goes with an estate official or anyone else known to him, he will give the money. His charges depended on the amount of money in the account. Maximum is 10 or 15 thousand rupees per 100,000 rupees. Not more.” This is what a ‘contact’ told us.
TISL representation team discovered this racket during it’s field visits to Badulla. Several civil society organizations including ‘Future in our hands’ Development Foundation assisted TISL in gathering information on persons who have been ‘victims’ of the mudalali. Though TISL has not concluded it‘s investigations, It has already collected ample information of this operation. Most victims are employees of estates in and around Badulla, Passara, Gamewela which include St James Estate, Ketawala Estate, Rossette Estate, Moragolla Estate and Deans Land. Most of the victims are those without their identity cards, birth certificates and other documents. Others are those in need of quick cash. There are at least two mudalalis in Badulla town & one in Bandarawela involved in the racket. According to the victims, they have to first leave their bank pass book with the mudalali. The EPF money is paid direct to the account and the mudalali’s dues are settled in the bank itself when the EPF cheque is credited to the account. The innocent victims are scared and dare not divulge details. The big question is how the mudalali is able to arrange for the payments so quickly even if vital documents are missing. Can they do it unless some high-ups in the EPF and the Department of Labour are hand in glove with them? It is very likely this racket is widespread covering other parts of the country as well.