Fifty thousand housing programme commences tomorrow

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

The housing construction programme to provide 50 000 houses to the war displaced will commence tomorrow in Jaffna under the supervision of the Presidential Task Force, Resettlement Ministry Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa said yesterday.

Secretary Sugathadasa said the Presidential Task Force on Resettlement and Security is now prepared to provide houses for those who have been displaced by the last phase of the war with the assistance of the Indian government.

The members of Tamil diaspora may relieve themselves of being economic refugees of Western countries and return to their original lands in Sri Lanka. It is an open invitation from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said.

Asked what would be the future of the Resettlement Ministry with the recent closure of Manik Farm relief center, Sugathadasa said , the ministry is now looking into the possibilities of resettling those Sri Lankan Tamil citizens who are living in some parts of Southern India.

“Besides, we have started post- resettlement activities in the North and Eastern Provinces which involves providing housing, drinking and sanitation facilities to the resettled IDPs,” he explained. He said there are some resettlement activities to be carried out in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Trincomalee districts for those Muslim and Sinhalese people who have been systematically chased out from their lands of origin by the LTTE.

“These people, majority of them Muslims were systematically evicted from their original lands in the North by the LTTE, in 1990.”

“They have been living in Puttalam for decades, now they have their third generation living in that area,” he pointed out.

“We are looking forward to address their grievances as part of the Resettlement Programme,” he said.

“Shutting down Manik Farm relief camp where 300000 persons were who had been displaced as a result of the last pahse of the war, was a milestone achievement. Nevertheless there is much to be done about those who had left for India and European countries as refugees,” he added.

“The government has drafted Rs 374 million to be allocated to the Ministry of Resettlement for the activities next year,” he said.