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Cabinet approves 6,000 prefab houses in NE subject to beneficiary preference
Cabinet has approved a proposal to build 6,000 prefabricated (prefab) houses for the war-displaced in the North and East, on condition, the beneficiaries prefer them to masonry houses–an option the Ministry of Resettlement, ironically, never afforded them.
Representatives of international steel giant ArcelorMittal–including a technical team–were in Sri Lanka over the weekend for discussions in this regard, authoritative official sources said. But the TNA has once again lodged strong opposition to the proposal, eliciting a promise from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that people would be given a clear choice between prefab and masonry dwellings.
The issue was raised by TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran during a meeting at the Jaffna District Secretariat on Friday, presided over by Mr Wickremesinghe. Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan, who has single-handedly promoted the project since 2015, was also present.
Mr Sumanthiran reiterated–as the TNA has done on numerous occasions–that the party was opposed to steel prefab houses. He was immediately supported by Northern Province (NP) Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. When Minister Swaminathan tried to defend the initiative, he was silenced by the Prime Minister.
Mr Wickremesinghe replied Cabinet had only said not more than 6,000 houses–down from the original proposal for 65,000–can be built for those who preferred prefab houses to masonry dwellings. But Mr Sumanthiran pointed out that, the advertisements inviting people to apply for housing, did not provide an alternative to prefab houses.
Instead, they conveyed the impression that, if anyone wanted a house, he or she had to apply for the ArcelorMittal one or, none at all. Even now, the official website of the Resettlement Ministry carries an application to obtain “prefabricated [sic] houses under the 10,000 prefabricated [sic] housing project”. There is no other option offered.
But the Prime Minister then gave an assurance, publicly, that beneficiaries would be given a clear choice. He also said no modality, as to how the project is to be taken forward, has been decided.
The Cabinet decision, seen by the Sunday Times, is “to grant concurrence of the Cabinet for the construction of 6,000 prefabricated houses…subject to the allocation of houses being made to the displaced families concerned, on receiving their consent for same”.
It was also agreed that, “the balance requirement of housing for the displaced families in the Northern and Eastern Provinces should be met by constructing 10,000-15,000 traditional brick-and-mortar type houses per year, by using the modalities proposed by HE the President…”
Cabinet further appointed an official committee to formulate “a suitable mechanism” to implement the President’s proposal. It is to be chaired by the Secretary to the President or, a Senior Additional Secretary to the President, nominated by him. Other members include Secretaries to the Ministries of Social Empowerment and Welfare; Housing and Construction; and Resettlement.
Previously, Mr Sumanthiran had said that, if the Govt. intended to slash its original proposal of 65,000 prefab houses, down to 6,000, it must call a fresh tender, as many more contractors will qualify for the smaller project, and offer better prices.
The prefab housing project has been in the pipeline since 2015, blocked by widespread protests. The TNA said it was “totally opposed to prefabricated steel houses” and called for civilians in the North and East to be provided with traditional masonry houses, in keeping with their culture and way of life. All 16 MPs of the party endorsed this position.
Nevertheless, the initiative is openly backed by Minister Swaminathan. The TNA revealed that he had made personal telephone calls to several of its MPs, inviting them to request for prefab houses in their respective electorates.
In the face of resistance, President Maithripala Sirisena passed the project to Special Projects Minister Sarath Amunugama for a recommendation. He returned with a proposal to grant a contract for 6,000 houses to ArcelorMittal.
The initial plan–which would have compelled the Govt. to borrow US$ 1 billion to implement–was to build 65,000 prefab steel houses for war-affected families in the North and East. But the prefab steel dwellings have been objected to on multiple grounds including climatic unsuitability, flimsy construction, lack of durability, unjustifiably high cost and so on.
A Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (CANC) rejected the project and recommended that fresh tenders be called. A group of civil society agencies and persons even put forward an alternate proposal for 102,000 masonry houses at a cost of just under Rs 1 million per house, using local labour and funded by a consortium of local banks.