Just 9604 housing units out of a proposed 65, 097 had been completed and handed over to the public by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) under the previous Government, Parliament was told today (5).
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa made the revelation in answer to a question raised by Kandy District UPFA MP Anuradha Jayaratne.
Mr Rajapaksa told Parliament that during the past 4 1/2 years, the NHDA had initiated 2562 housing projects, though it had completed only 367 of them.
Mr Jayaratne stated that even those who had received houses were undergoing severe hardships as they had not been given deeds for the lands on which these houses had been built.
The PM said the NHDA had used lands belonging to the State (obtained through written approval by the Divisional Secretary), the Mahaweli Development Authority, Land Reform Commission, lands coming under plantation companies and the NHDA to build these housing projects.
"However, not a single deed has been given for any of these lands thus far," he added. Mr Rajapaksa stated the reason for this is that the housing projects had been built as a loan. The recipients have been given 10-15 years to pay off the debt in installments after which they are to be given deeds for the lands. "So far, there is no record of anyone completing the payment in installments," he added.
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Villagers in Nirmalapura, Daluwa, Norochcholai today staged a protest over an incident where a group of Navy officials and sailors had assaulted a resident in the area over night, Police said.
A passenger attempting to smuggle the largest quantity of gold of 35 kilo grams was arrested by the Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today, a senior official said.
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