India assists in developing 50 additional model villages across Sri Lanka

India and Sri Lanka signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) yesterday to construct 1,200 houses through 50 model villages, using Indian grant assistance of Rs. 600 million.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Ministry of Housing and Construction Secretary Bernard Vasantha signed the MoUs in the presence of Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa.

The signing took place during a special ceremony held in Hambantota for the opening of the Sathsurugama model village, completed under the Grama Shakti Model Village Housing Project, which the High Commissioner participated as a Special Guest.

The 1,200 houses under 50 model villages are in addition to the 1,200 houses (50 model villages) under construction in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Construction. With this, India’s collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Construction under the Model Villages Housing Program stands at 2,400 houses in 100 model villages.

The houses will be constructed using the successful owner driven model with Indian grant assistance. As per the new MoUs, 600 houses each will be constructed in the Southern and Northern Provinces. The project will target low income landless and homeless beneficiaries. A cash grant of Rs. 500,000 will be provided to each beneficiary in installments, linked to the stages of construction of the house.

These projects are in continuation of Government of India’s commitment to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in the development of housing infrastructure. India’s overall commitment for building houses in Sri Lanka stands at nearly 63,000. Indian financial commitment under grant for housing in Sri Lanka currently stands at around $ 350 million.

The overall development portfolio of the Indian Government in Sri Lanka is close to $ 3 billion. Out of this around $ 550 million is pure grant assistance and the rest of it is concessional credit.

India’s development cooperation projects are not limited to specific regions or sectors. India partners Sri Lanka according to Sri Lanka’s needs and the development projects are being executed all across Sri Lanka.