India Assistance for High Impact Community Development Projects
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Sri Lanka through grant assistance from the Government of India was signed and exchanged by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, and Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, extending the existing framework for another five years.
The HICDP framework has been designed to contribute to Sri Lanka’s developmental aspirations.
It needs to be implemented through relatively small yet highly impactful developmental initiatives, coordinated with the Government of Sri Lanka, while maintaining funding for large- and medium-scale developmental projects and special financial assistance packages.
The capital cost of a project covered under the HICDP framework is capped at LKR 600 million, and the total capital cost of all such projects taken up for implementation at any time is capped at LKR 10 billion.
Projects under the framework are entirely based on the requirements of the people and the Government of Sri Lanka’s priorities.
The Governments of India and Sri Lanka first entered into an MoU in June 2005 to implement such a framework for a period of five years. Noting the high utility of the implemented projects for socio-economic development in Sri Lanka, particularly in the education, health, and community development sectors, and in response to a request from the Government of Sri Lanka, the framework has been extended three times to date: in 2010, 2015, and 2020. The MoU signed on 11 November is thus the fourth extension of the framework for another five years.
Over 50 HICDPs have been successfully implemented in Sri Lanka until now with Indian grant assistance.
Some notable instances include the construction of a new surgical unit at the Teaching Hospital Batticaloa, the construction of 115 houses and infrastructure facilities at Ven. Sobitha Nahimigama in Anuradhapura, construction of the Mahatma Gandhi Community Centre in Matale, supply of 110 buses to educational institutions across Sri Lanka, renovation of Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna, upgrading 70 crèches in the estate sector to assist mothers employed in tea estates, construction of buildings of faculties of Engineering and Agriculture at the University of Jaffna, Killinochchi campus, construction of buildings for the Department of Kandyan Dance at Pallekele under Sri Dalada Maligawa, establishment of Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium at Ruhuna University, among others.
A total of 21 HICDPs are currently under implementation, with an outlay of over SLR 7 billion.
Notable instances include the construction of model villages, each comprising 24 houses, in every district of the island; the establishment of smart classrooms and computer labs in 200 schools in the Southern Province; and the supply of single cabs for use in police stations across Sri Lanka, among others.
Most recently, committed projects under the scheme include the establishment of 60 smart classrooms in selected schools in plantation areas, the rehabilitation of the Karainagar boatyard, and the construction and supply of medical equipment for the Accident and Emergency Unit at the District General Hospital, Mannar.