News
Housing development in estate sector held up due to shortage of funding
BY Rathindra Kuruwita
Three thousand five hundred and seventy six (3,576) houses under a project to build 14,000 housing units in the plantation community on a full grant basis by 31 December 2020 have been completed, but 2,877 of them could not be handed over to the beneficiaries because there are no funds to supply electricity and water, the Annual Performance Report of the State Ministry of Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure for the year 2020 says.
“The construction of 3576 houses was completed by 31.12.2020 and out of them 699 have already been handed over to the beneficiaries. Out of these houses, 2877 are to be provided with electricity and water,” the report says.
The report has revealed that another 424 houses are in various stages of construction, and they are scheduled to be completed before September 30, 2021.
The houses could not be provided with electricity or water in 2020 because the Treasury had not allocated funds for the project. Therefore, approval has been received to extend the project period up to September 2021 and to allocate Rs. 522 million for the provision of infrastructure facilities, the Ministry says.
Work on another 10,000 houses is to commence this year at an estimated cost of Rs. 11 billion out of which the Indian government is to grant Rs. 9.5 billion. These will be built for the plantation community in Badulla, Hatton, Nuwara- Eliya, Kandy, Kegalle, Ratnapura and Galle.
The Ministry says there are three types of houses in the estates now: Single barrack Line Houses, Double barrack Line Houses and Temporary Houses.
“A Single Barrack Line House is a 264 square feet house with a front veranda and a single room. A double line room has an area of around 145 – 175 square feet each. Temporary houses have been built adjacent to the existing line rooms since the existing line rooms are not sufficient with the gradual increase in the number of families in the plantation sector. These houses have the least facilities,” the report says.
Given that such housing is degrading for inhabitants, there was a proposal to build 550-square-foot single houses with adjoining toilets, on a seven-perch blocks of land with title deeds and infrastructure such as safe drinking water, electricity, and access roads.
“For the year 2020, it was decided complete 1,710 housing units. The Ministry was able to complete the construction of 700 houses by 31 December 2020 by continuing the housing programme in collaboration with the Plantation Human Development Trust. Rs. 768.95 million was spent on infrastructure for new houses during the year. This also includes Rs. 88 million spent on the provision of essential infrastructure. However, the allocations received were not sufficient to build the remaining 1010 houses.”
The Ministry says there are 1,544 Child Development Centres under the Estate Management to provide day care facilities for children between the ages of two and five. Out of them 550 or 38% of the centres have low level facilities.
The Opposition yesterday called for the entire Cabinet-of-Ministers to accept responsibility for the coal scam. Addressing the media at the Flower Road Office of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris emphasised that Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody’s resignation, in the wake of the damning report issued by the National Audit Office (NAO), has now implicated the entire Cabinet-of-Ministers.
Prof. Peiris asserted that Jayakody, who had been indicted in the Colombo High Court over alleged corruption, during the Yahapalana administration, stepped down after the NPP failed to suppress the truth on the coal scam.
The ex-Minister declared that Jayakody’s resignation, the first since the formation of new government, with a super majority in Parliament, was a devastating setback for the current dispensation.
The internationally recognised legal scholar said that a future government would move courts against the entire NPP Cabinet. Referring to the NAO report submitted to Parliament, Prof. Peiris emphasised that there was absolutely no ambiguity regards allegations directed at the Energy Ministry. The NAO report proved that the Indian company, Trident Champhar, that won the major contract, didn’t even have the required registration.
Prof. Peiris said that the coal scam was three times bigger than the Treasury bond scams, perpetrated during the Yahapalana time (SF)
The Colombo High Court yesterday ordered that the case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his grand-aunt Daisy Forrest Wickramasinghe, be recalled on June 10.
The case was taken up before High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli.
At the hearing, State Counsel informed the court that a related case, on similar charges, had been filed before High Court No. 08. The court was further informed that a revised indictment has been directed to be filed in that case, necessitating the submission of a revised indictment in the present case as well.
State Counsel requested time to report on the progress of those proceedings.
Accordingly, the judge ordered that the case be called on June 10 and directed that progress be reported on that date.
The case pertains to three indictments filed by the Attorney General alleging that between March 31, 2009, and December 12, 2013, the accused had committed an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by depositing over Rs. 59 million in three private banks, the source of which could not be explained.
A three-judge bench of the Colombo Special High Court yesterday rejected a request by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera to introduce additional facts to a statement he had previously made from the dock.
Jayasundera is an accused in the case filed over alleged criminal negligence in failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, despite prior intelligence warnings.
The order was delivered by the bench, presided over by Justice Priyantha Liyanage.
Meanwhile, retired Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) Nandana Munasinghe and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the Eastern Province, Waruna Jayasundera, appeared before court as defence witnesses.
Opposition holds NPP Cabinet responsible for coal scam, three times bigger than bond fraud
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