Fund to finance homes for security forces

The Government on Friday presented to Parliament the ‘Api Wenuwen Api Fund’ Bill to provide for the establishment of a fund to provide loans for the construction of houses for armed service personnel.The Bill makes provision for the formulation of schemes for the construction of houses for armed forces personnel as well as make provision for the grant of assistance to obtain and repay loans obtained by them from financial institutions.

Laws will also be formulated to ensure the repayment of the loans, in the event the armed forces personnel dies or is permanently disabled or injured in action or otherwise. President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Budget speech on Wednesday announced the creation of the Fund and invited Sri Lankans living abroad to contribute to it. He said the Government would allocate Rs750 million to develop the necessary infrastructure for these housing complexes.