Construction of 51 new houses for families in the Alagolla Estate in the Uva Paranagama Divisional Secretariat Division of the Badulla District commenced today (29) with the laying of foundation stones.

The project is being implemented under the fourth phase of the Indian Housing Project, which provides for the construction of 10,000 houses with financial assistance from the Government of India and the support of the Government of Sri Lanka.

The foundation-laying ceremony was held under the patronage of Minister Samantha Viddyarathna, with the participation of the Deputy High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka.

The project is aimed at providing safe, quality and dignified housing to members of the Malaiyaha Tamil community. The 51 families selected for the project had been living for more than 13 years in an area classified as being at high risk of landslides, where they had faced unsafe living conditions for an extended period.

The new housing project is intended to provide these families with a safer residential environment and improved living conditions, while addressing the long-standing challenges created by the area's landslide risk.

Under the project, the Government of India will provide Rs. 2.8 million per housing unit, while the Government of Sri Lanka will allocate an additional Rs. 400,000 per unit for infrastructure development.

Accordingly, the total value of each housing unit will be Rs. 3.2 million.