Expert Committee to Fix 2015-2019 National Housing Project Failures

COLOMBO (News 1st); A special expert committee has been appointed to identify and resolve issues related to housing projects implemented under the National Housing Development Authority between 2015 and 2019.

The committee comprises five members, including two former ministry secretaries and an additional secretary.

Housing, Construction and Water Supply Minister Dr. Susil Ranasinghe stated that the panel has been tasked with identifying problems within the relevant housing projects and submitting recommendations to address them within a three-month period.

Cabinet approval for the appointment of the expert committee was granted recently, with the aim of obtaining structured recommendations to resolve issues that have arisen in connection with the projects.

During the 2015–2019 period, plans were in place to launch 2,562 housing projects under the National Housing Development Authority, with a target of constructing a total of 64,407 houses.

These included housing assistance projects covering 1,138 villages, housing loan schemes benefiting 1,334 villages, and 90 villages planned under assistance from the Government of India.

However, only around 386 villages have been completed and declared open so far, with just 10,532 houses fully constructed under the programme.

Estimates indicate that an additional Rs. 11.26 billion will be required to complete the remaining housing units.