MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN
COLOMBO : The government headed by President Anura Kumar has initiated action to hand over 500 houses constructed in Norochcholai in the Ampara district, to beneficiaries after a span of 15 years.
This project was implemented to assist 500 families who were displaced and lost their homes as a result of the 2004 tsunami.
This housing project, funded by the Saudi Arabian government in 2009, was yet to be handed over to the intended beneficiaries. A decision has been made to expedite the handover of these residences to the beneficiary families.
L. G. Wasantha Piyatissa, Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment said here at a district committee meeting held recently that the government intends to make arrangements to hand over these houses to deserving people with the help of the judiciary.
The deputy minister said that he is taking the action on a request made by Saudi envoy Khalid Hamoud Alkahtani.
In 2011, the Saudi Envoy in Colombo presented the keys to houses to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa to be allocated to the tsunami victims in the Ampara district.
However, a Court ruling had resulted in the suspension of the distribution to the intended beneficiaries, as stated by a spokesperson from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
The spokesperson indicated that the project, which comprises 500 residential units, will include a school, a supermarket complex, a hospital, a mosque, and various other amenities. Saudi Arabia anticipates distributing these homes to the beneficiaries at the earliest opportunity.
Following the Court ruling, the Embassy had engaged in discussions regarding this issue with various governments and their leaders.
