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| Saturday, 9 August 2003 |
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"To meet the current demand for housing in Sri Lanka, it is essential to build at least six hundred and fifty thousand houses. In order to achieve this objective the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and other organizations has embarked on a broad based National Housing Programme. The NHDA in collaboration with Housing Development Finance Corporation of Sri Lanka (HDFC) recently commenced the latest programme aimed at providing housing loans up to Rs. 500,000 with an interest rate of 9.5% per annum to enable the Low Middle Income earners to build their own houses," said Major General Sarath Munasinghe, Chairman NHDA while on an inspection tour of the housing development activities in Galgamuwa electorate recently. This inspection which took place on the invitation of Indika Bandaranayake, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources was preceded by a ceremony at District Secretariat office, Galgamuwa where seventy loan recipients were handed over the first instalment of their loans. Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Indika Bandaranayake said Galgamuwa is an electorate where the majority consists of poor and low income earners. They are in need of development activities in the fields of housing, drinking water, agriculture based on village tanks and electricity. In order to achieve these objectives an integrated development programme is being implemented. The Deputy Minister, Chairman, NHDA and other officials also visited Athikulama, a remote hamlet in the Galgamuwa electorate where about 100 families are living in temporary structures like makeshift shanties. After observing the situation it was decided to develop this hamlet as a re-awakened village. Under this project the NHDA will provide financial and technical assistance to upgrade their houses. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) will undertake to provide water facilities while the Deputy Minister Bandaranayake with community organizations will make arrangement to development roads and culverts on shramadana basis. As it is not possible to supply electricity from the National Power Grid within a short period, the NHDA will install a Solar Power System to provide electricity to this village. The Deputy Minister and Chairman, NHDA visited several more villages and having discussed the problems with the villagers decided to design a development plan catering to the needs of those villages. General Manager, NHDA Piyal Ganepola, other officials and representatives of the locality too participated in these visits and discussions. |
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