More than 1,550 families to benefit
India Doubles Financial Commitment to 3 Housing Projects in Northern and Southern Provinces
Among numerous other projects under its High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) framework in Sri Lanka, the Government of India (GoI) has been extending financial assistance to three housing-sector projects: Gram Shakthi Northern, Gram Shakthi Southern I, and Gram Shakthi Southern II, under Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed in October 2017 and October 2018.
Under the MoUs, the GoI released SLR 500,000 to low-income families selected by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) for the construction of houses under the owner-driven model in the Northern and Southern provinces.
Due to price increases following the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, as well as the economic challenges in Sri Lanka in 2022, the project beneficiaries found it difficult to complete construction of their houses within the allocated assistance. Accordingly, in response to a request from the GoSL, the GoI agreed to double the per-house financial support to SLR 1,000,000.
Diplomatic Letters to effect the revised assistance were exchanged by High Commissioner H.E Santosh Jha and Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Eng. L.B. Kumudu Lal at a ceremony held at the High Commission of India.
More than 1,550 families will benefit from the revised assistance under the three projects.
‘Housing’ figures prominently among the sectors in which India’s people-centric development cooperation initiatives are positively impacting the everyday lives of Sri Lankans.
Nearly 50,000 houses have been constructed and handed over under the flagship Indian Housing Project in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the plantation regions of Sri Lanka.
Construction of another 10,000 houses is underway as part of Phase IV of the project.
In addition to the 3 Gram Shakthi projects for which financial support was revised upward on 30 December, India is also implementing other HICDPs in the sector in Sri Lanka. These include the island-wide Model Village Project, which provides housing for 24 low-income families in each of the country’s 25 districts; transit houses for pilgrims visiting the Madhu Shrine near Mannar; and the recently completed Ven—Shobhita Nahimigama project in Anuradhapura.
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.