Transitional housing project for tsunami victims gets under way
The first phase of the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) to
provide suitable temporary accommodation to displaced persons due to the
tsunami is now under way in ten affected districts.
The required administrative and operational structures have been put
in place at the District level by the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR)
which has been detailed by the President to implement the programme,
states a press release issued by the office of the Commissioner General
of Essential Services.
According to an initial report prepared by the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) which is the main lead agency co-ordinating
with state agencies and International NGOs, over 4,000 temporary housing
units have already been constructed by the respective agencies under the
Project.
The project aims at providing much better temporary accommodation
than the present tents and make-shift shelters where the affected
families have accommodated soon after the disaster, until they are
settled in permanent houses under the program launched by TAFFREN under
the direction of the President.
Under the first phase of the Transitional Accommodation Project
10,000 housing units each with 200 to 250 square feet of floor area are
earmarked to be erected by April 10. During the second phase another
20,000 shelters will come up before end of May this year.
The cost of these shelters (each unit costing on an average of Rs.
40,000)b will be borne entirely by International and Local
Non-Governmental Organisations and implemented in co-ordination with
District Secretaries and State agencies.
These housing units will be built using mainly timber and roofing
material made of rubberized material or similar material on land
provided by the Urban Development Authority.
Tilak Ranaviraja, Commissioner General of Essential Services and
Chairman of TAFOR has during the past two weeks held a series of
discussions with the representatives of NGOs, District Secretaires and
Line Ministries explaining the implementation strategies and providing
solutions to problems arising as the implementation program got into top
gear.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
International Organisation for Migrants (IOM) are the two main lead
agencies assisting TAFOR in co-ordinating with state agencies and NGOs
identified as agencies who will fund the TAP programs in the districts.
The head office of TAP manned by experienced senior officials has
been set up at the Salu Sala Headquarters at Jawatte Road, Colombo with
district level sub offices set up to co-ordinate at district level.
Fifty graduates who had been given a special training and orientation
in relief work at the various welfare centres have been posted to the
ten Districts to assist the district level officers and NGOs in the
implementation of the program specially interacting with the displaced
families, district officials and the lead agencies in implementation of
the program.
These fifty officers, who were briefed by Ranaviraja on the role they
have to play before they were sent off, have been provided with a motor
cycle each donated by the IOM to engage in the work along with mobile
telephones.
Their names and phone numbers have been provided to the Lead agencies
and NGOs engaged in the project for speedy action.
The lead agencies implementing the project in the respective
Districts are Colombo - Caritas, Sri Lanka, Kalutara - International
Organisation of Migrants (IOM), Galle - Sewa-Lanka, Matara-IOM,
Hambantota - GOL - Sri Lanka, Ampara-UNHCR, Batticaloa - GTZ,
Trincomalee - UNHCR, Kilinochchi-ZOA, Jaffna-UNHCR.
At the last meeting held at the TAP headquarters in Colombo on
Thursday the Co-ordinator for Shelter of UNHCR Miss.
Jo Da Silva said that according to the information supplied by the
agencies over 4,000 temporary accommodation units have been constructed
under the project. She also stressed the need for the NGOs to keep the
UNHCR posted with the update of the progress and also problems they
would face so that solutions could be found. |