Govt to build 336,000 houses annually

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The Construction and Engineering Services Ministry will construct 336,000 houses annually and two houses will be built in each Grama Niladhari division from next year.

At present there are 14,000 Grama Niladhari divisions in the country. The construction of two houses in each Grama Niladhari division per month would facilitate the Ministry to construct around 336,000 houses annually, Construction and Engineering Services Minister Wimal Weerawansa told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will contest the 2017 Presidential election as a leader who had successfully fulfilled the target of constructing one million houses in the country, the Minister said.

The Ministry has also decided to launch a project called Sasunen Sewana under the Jana Sewana program, to overcome the housing problem of low income families in villages countrywide. The Sasunen Sewana project was launched in Kandy yesterday, he said.

Minister Weerawansa said the Sasunen Sewana project would provide as opportunity for every temple in the country to recommend a low income family in the area who needs a house.

Following the recommendation of the Chief Incumbent and Dayaka Sabha of the temple, the Ministry will construct the house for the family. The Ministry will also seek the cooperation of the village community for the successful implementation of the housing project.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has already completed a 50 unit housing project at Kilinochchi and it will be vested with the public shortly.

The Ministry has also provided financial assistance to a large number of people in several districts in the Northern province to construct houses on their own lands. In addition, the Ministry has introduced a special loan scheme for the benefit of public servants in the Northern province, he said.