India says the work of the construction of 50,000 houses in the north of Sri Lanka with Indian grant assistance has already commenced. Indian High Commission in Colombo announced that a pilot project to construct 1000 houses spreading in all five districts of the Northern Province is underway at the moment. A statement by Indian mission in Colombo said that the fifty thousand housing project was conceived, as a fully grant funded project, during the visit to India earlier this year by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, made the offer of India undertaking the construction of fifty thousand houses for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka, given the extent of the demand and the urgency of the situation.
While the bulk of this project will focus on the needs in the Northern Province, it will also cover some areas of the Eastern and Central Provinces. has already begun on a pilot project of one thousand houses, which will be spread over all the five districts of the Northern Province.
"An Indian company, Hindustan Prefab Limited is executing this pilot project; We hope to draw important lessons from this pilot phase for implementation of the larger project in the second phase, which will also commence soon", the statement said.
The Statement also reads;The project, as conceptualized, involves meeting the housing needs of IDPs being resettled in these areas. Given the ground situation, it is envisaged that bulk of their housing needs will be met by construction of new dwelling units. However, the project will also cater to the needs of a smaller number of IDPs who may wish to have their damaged houses repaired.
While the primary purpose of this project is the provision of shelter, Government of India recognizes the potential that also exists for the creation of livelihoods as a result of this project. The Indian agencies executing this project will make every effort necessary to source materials, labour and expertise locally, wherever available, in order to give a fillip to employment and economic activity in the region.