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Some 20,000 Jaffna district families left out of housing schemes
Some of the war-affected receiving house deeds from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (file pic)
With more than 20,000 Jaffna district war-affected families not being included in any state housing development programmes, when the list of housing beneficiaries for war-affected people was showcased in Divisional Secretariat offices recently, there were allegations of administrative flaws in the selection process of beneficiaries and political influence.
Among the complaints received from various Divisional Secretariats, the highest number were from Chavakachcheri, Tellipalai and Kopay. War-affected, landless families requested the authorities to include them in the current housing programmes. Currently, it is a mandatory requirement for a family to possess a deed of land to be eligible for the programme.
The project, implemented by the State Ministry of Rural Housing and Construction and Building Material Industries Promotion has introduced two housing schemes valued Rs 600,000 and Rs one million. Under this programme, 1532 houses valued at Rs one million and 630 houses valued at Rs 600,000 were allocated to the Jaffna district.
Jaffna District Secretary K. Mahesan acknowledged that there were complaints about the selection process of the beneficiaries, but pointed out that the demand for housing is high in the region and authorities are re-evaluating the list to select the most suitable and deserving families.
“It is natural people are approaching the elected representatives to ensure their names are being included in the list but we are evaluating their eligibility through a carefully designed points-based system. In this process we are working with other actors including elected representatives and community leaders,” Secretary Mahesan said.
According to the District Secretary, the Divisional Secretariats received more requests than complaints to include them as beneficiaries.
“There were complaints by some who opted to go for the Rs one million scheme only. We cannot do that. We have to select beneficiaries according to the eligibility requirements put in place by the Ministry,” Secretary Mahesan said.
Among those families who were left out of the housing project is a family with a member who is a person with disabilities. This family is from Punnalikattuvan in the Uduvil Divisional Secretariat.
Former Northern Governor Suren Raghavan has written to the Jaffna District Secretariat explaining the plight of this family and urged that it be included in the scheme.
Even after the war came to an end more than a decade ago, the Jaffna district’s war-affected people’s housing needs have not been met. More than 20,000 families lack proper housing facilities, according to the Jaffna District Secretary.
Recently, the Northern Governor’s Secretary S. Mohanathan wrote to Divisional Secretaries through the Jaffna District Secretary, instructing them to address the concerns of the allegedly flawed selection process.
As a Co-Chair of the District Development Committee (DDC), the Governor’s Secretary informed the Divisional Secretaries that Governor P. S.M. Charles would authorise the project only after complaints were resolved.
Following the re-evaluation process of both housing schemes, more than 250 beneficiaries were replaced.
The Jaffna District Secretary also stressed the need to ensure the deserving families were included in the project as beneficiaries, since he had found that more than 750 houses that were built in the district under similar housing programmes in past were currently not occupied by the families.
“There could be more reasons for this scenario but we are careful in our evaluation process that amidst huge demand for housing needs in the district, this project reached out to the needy beneficiaries,” Secretary Mahesan said.
So far eight Divisional Secretariats finalised the lists of beneficiaries after the re-evaluation process and published them on the official website of the District Secretariat. Once the list of beneficiaries was finalised, the project was scheduled to be implemented before the end of this year, according to the District Secretary.