The Government of India (GoI) has agreed to double the financial support per house to SLR 1,000,000 for the construction of houses under the owner-driven model in the Northern and Southern provinces, based on a request from the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
The revised assistance was formalized through Diplomatic Letters exchanged between High Commissioner Santosh Jha and the Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Eng. L.B. Kumudu Lal at a ceremony held at the High Commission of India yesterday (30 Dec).
According to the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, over 1,550 families will benefit from the increased support under the three projects.
The projects were originally launched under Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed in October 2017 and October 2018, for the three housing-sector projects: Gram Shakthi Northern, Gram Shakthi Southern I and Gram Shakthi Southern II.
Per the agreement, the GoI was releasing SLR 500,000 to low-income families selected by the GoSL for the construction of houses under the owner-driven model in the Northern and Southern provinces.
However, due to price escalations following the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic challenges of 2022, beneficiaries struggled to complete construction within the allocated assistance, prompting the GoSL’s request for enhanced support.
The High Commission noted that ‘Housing’ figures prominently among India’s people-centric development cooperation initiatives in Sri Lanka. Close to 50,000 houses have already been constructed and handed over under the flagship Indian Housing Project in the Northern and Eastern provinces and plantation regions, while construction of another 10,000 houses is underway as part of Phase IV.
Besides the three Gram Shakthi projects, India is also implementing other High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in the housing sector, including the island-wide Model Village Project (providing housing for 24 low-income families in each of Sri Lanka’s 25 districts), transit houses for pilgrims visiting the Madhu Shrine near Mannar, and the recently completed Ven. Shobhita Nahimigama project in Anuradhapura.
The High Commission further stated that assistance to support the construction of fully and partially damaged houses is also proposed under the USD 450 million reconstruction and recovery package for Sri Lanka announced by the GoI in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah. (Newswire)