India and Sri Lanka signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, 26, for the construction of 1,200 houses through 50 model villages, using Indian grant assistance of SLR 600 million.
The MoUs were signed by the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Construction, Mrs. W.K.K. Athukorala, in the presence of the Minister of Housing and Construction, Sajith Premadasa,. The signing took place during a special ceremony held in Hambantota, vesting with beneficiaries the Santhosagama model village completed under the Gram Shakti Model Village Housing Project at which the High Commissioner participated as a Special Guest.
The 1,200 houses will be constructed using the successful owner driven model with Indian grant assistance. Of these, 600 houses will be constructed in the Southern Province, while the remaining will be constructed across Sri Lanka, with one model village in each of the 25 districts.
The project targets low income, landless and homeless beneficiaries.
A cash grant of SLR 5 lakhs will be provided to each beneficiary in five instalments, linked to the stages of construction of the house.
These projects are in continuation of the Government of India’s commitment to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in the development of housing infrastructure. It may be recalled, the Indian Government committed 50,000 houses for IDPs in the North and East, of which nearly 46,000 have been completed.
Construction of 4,000 houses are currently underway in the plantation sector in the Central and Uva Provinces.
The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi committed another 10,000 houses for beneficiaries in the plantation sector in May 2017.