(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The Government and people of India committed to be with the people of Sri Lanka in their journey towards greater peace and prosperity, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated.
Indian Premier made remarks addressing a special ceremony held on Sunday (12), at Dunsinane Estate in Punduloya, Nuwara Eliya District, to hand over the first lot of houses built under the Indian Housing Project in Plantation Areas.
Prime Minister Modi addressed the beneficiaries of the housing project via a message.
The new houses along with the land ownership were handed over to more than 400 beneficiaries by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Minister for Hill country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development Palani Digambaram, Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake and Minister of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Gayantha Karunathilake.
Several Members of Parliament and Central Provincial Council, senior Government officials as well as Officials from Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), Regional Plantation Companies and a huge number of people from the Dunsinane Estate, close to 1,500, including the beneficiaries of the houses and their families attended the function.
Prime Minister Modi in his address on the occasion, congratulated the proud owners of the newly built independent houses. Highlighting the uniqueness of the participatory owner-driven approach of the Indian Housing Project where in the beneficiaries actively participate in building the houses, he underscored that the Indian Housing Project in Sri Lanka with a grant of over US$ 350 million, was the largest Indian grant assistance project in any country abroad. He also recalled that out of the total commitment of 60,000 houses by India close to 47,000 houses have been built.
Further, recalling the launch of expansion of the pre-hospital Emergency Ambulance Service all over Sri Lanka last month, commencement of Air India flights from Colombo to Varanasi in August 2017 and signing of agreement for construction of 10,000 houses in the plantation areas, Prime Minister Modi expressed satisfaction that promises made during his visit to Sri Lanka last year have been kept.
Expressing that Sri Lanka has been and will remain special for India, he reiterated Government and people of India’s commitment to be with the people of Sri Lanka in their journey towards greater peace and prosperity.
Prime Minister Ranil Wikeremesinghe appreciated India’s commitment to partner with Sri Lanka in development projects including in building houses for in Up-Country areas.
On the same occasion, the Letter of Exchange for construction of additional 10,000 houses in the plantation areas was signed by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Minister for Hill country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development Palani Digambaram.
Prime Minister Modi had committed to construct these additional houses during his visit to Sri Lanka in 2017. With this agreement the commitment of India for building houses in the plantation areas meant for estate workers has risen to 14,000.
