Houses build for poor distributed among UNP stooges

Vijayani Edirisinghe

Houses and business premises constructed for low income families were distributed among affluent families for political mileage during UNP rule, Housing Development Authority sources said.

The sources said over 10,000 affluent families supporting the UNP in Colombo, received houses and business premises.

"The houses were distributed during the UNP rule between 1980 and 1990. The monthly rental of the houses and business premises were Rs 13.50, Rs 50 and Rs 100. However, it has been noticed that a number of families do not pay this meager rental. Most houses are in flats, constructed for low income families, although they were distributed among high income earning UNP supporters," they said.

Persons who obtained these houses rented them for a high monthly rental. Most houses have been re-rented charging Rs 15,000 or Rs 20,000 a month. Certain individuals also use government owned land without paying a rental. Business premises have also been rented out for thousands by recipients, the sources said.