A project of building 4,000 houses for hill country Tamils in Central and Uva provinces was launched recently.
Funded by the Indian government, 1,134 houses will be constructed initially. The construction of the houses will be facilitated by the Estate Workers Housing Cooperative Societies (EWHCS) in consultation with beneficiaries.
The High Commission of India would release payment of a total of SLR 950,000 per house in four tranches, linked to the physical progress, directly to the special bank account operated by the EWHCS, according to a release issued by the Commission. The Sri Lanka government has set apart seven perches per family for 1,134 houses. On availability of land, the Indian government would commence the work for the remaining houses too.
On Sunday, at an estate in Nuwara Eliya district, India's High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure & Community Development P. Thiagambaram formally inaugurated the project's work.
