Colombo, Sep 29 (IANS) The Assistant High Commissioner of India, V S Saranya, joined Sri Lanka’s Plantation and Community Infrastructure Minister K V Samantha Viddyarathna and Deputy Minister Pradeep Sundaralingam to lay the foundation stone for 51 houses in Alagolla Estate in the Badulla district, the High Commission of India in Colombo said on Tuesday.
“Empowering communities through sustainable housing! AHC joined Plantation and Community Infrastructure Minister Hon. K V Samantha Viddyarathna & Deputy Minister Hon. Pradeep Sundaralingam to lay foundation stone for 51 houses in Alagolla Estate, Badulla district,” the High Commission said in a post on X.
“These houses form part of Phase IV of Indian Housing Project (IHP), under which 10,000 houses are being built for Sri Lanka’s plantation community. With a total commitment of 60,000 homes across Sri Lanka, IHP reaffirms the people-centric development partnership between India and Sri Lanka,” it added.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, along with the acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, Maitrey Kulkarni and several other Ministers and MPs, on August 28 handed over title deeds to 165 beneficiary families covered under Phase III of the Indian Housing Project.
“President H.E. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, accompanied by Actg. HC Maitrey Kulkarni, Minister and Dy. Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Hon. Samantha Viddyarathna and Hon. Sundarlingam Pradeep, Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Hon. Dr. H. M. Sushil Ranasinghe, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Hon. Saroja Savithri Paulraj and Hon MPs, handed over title deeds to 165 beneficiary families covered under Phase III of the Indian Housing Project,” the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka stated on X.
The event formed part of a housing-sector ceremony, where ‘Navodayapuram’, built by the Government of Sri Lanka for 50 disaster-affected families in Poonagala, was inaugurated.
According to the High Commission, the Indian Housing Project (IHP) is among India’s largest overseas development initiatives, with a commitment to build 60,000 houses in Sri Lanka.
“46,000 houses in North and East and 4,000 in plantation areas stand completed, and construction of another 10,000 is underway in the plantation regions of the country. These 14,000 houses in the plantation regions, under Phases III and IV of IHP, reaffirm India’s commitment to continuously work with GoSL towards upliftment and empowerment of the Indian-Origin Tamil community in Sri Lanka,” noted the High Commission.
–IANS
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