In pursuit of shanty-free city:

About 35,000 houses in three years

Suraj A Bandara

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said though the Urban Development Authority has identified nearly 75,000 families in the Colombo District with minimum infrastructure facilities, only 35,000 houses will be constructed for those who are in underserved areas within three years.

‘These are the worst effected people in the Colombo district who mainly dwell in unauthorized and underserved areas,” he said.

”No forces can resettle them out of Colombo city as they are the main contributors to the economy. The majority of them are employed in Colombo and there is no possibility of sending them away from the city, the Defence Secretary said. The Defence Secretary was attending a meeting at Kew Road, Colombo 2 yesterday.

He said though he was not a politician, the public deserve an explanation over the rumour being spread about chasing shanty dwellers from Colombo to some other areas in the country, with the aim to gain political mileage.

“I assure you that nobody will be chased away from Colombo and everybody will be provided with a house with modern facilities,” he said.

The Defence Secretary said the money needed to construct houses will be found through debentures and offering lands for investment opportunities. “Most shanty dwellers live in unauthorized lands on the banks of the Beira Lake and on CGR lands. Those lands cannot be offered to investors as they are not profitable ventures to them.

“Those who have their own lands will never be forced to go away. They will be given an opportunity to negotiate with the constructor on possible changes to their lands and houses will be constructed according to the land owners requirement, he said.

Colombo Municipal Council UPFA mayoral candidate Milinda Moragoda said Colombo was the worst affected city after the North and East by the nearly 30 year war.

Some people lost everything during this period. But since the ending of the war, Colombo has become one of main cities in the world with impressive development.

He said Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is an individual with a proven record of his work. He is a man of his word. He stands by his word till he gets the result.

Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, Deputy Minister Faizer Musthafa, Mohammad Maharoof and Sirisena Cooray also participated.