Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya says the present government’s objective is to empower people to build their own homes through community participation, while providing the necessary guidance, facilities and support.

The Prime Minister made the remarks today (5) while participating in the World Habitat Day 2026 commemoration held at Temple Trees under the theme “A Safer Home for All”. The event was organised by the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply in parallel with the United Nations World Habitat Day programme.

During the event, Prime Minister Amarasuriya opened the 5,000th house completed under the government’s housing programme. She also participated in the presentation of deeds of ownership, launched the Habitat Satisfaction Index (HSI), and presented prizes and certificates to winners of essay, art, dance and short film competitions held in conjunction with World Habitat Day.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said a home is not merely a structure constructed with bricks, cement and sand, but a fundamental human right and a source of dignity and security for families.

She said the government was moving away from the traditional approach of treating people solely as beneficiaries of housing assistance. Instead, the present government would provide the necessary guidance and facilities while enabling communities to take an active role in building their own homes.

The Prime Minister said the government was introducing a number of policy changes based on nine principles aimed at establishing a sustainable housing policy. Under the new approach, housing would be recognised as a fundamental human right and as an integral part of an overall settlement system rather than as individual housing units.

She said steps were being taken to establish an integrated administrative mechanism and to develop housing while taking into consideration both human and spatial factors.

The government’s objective is to create a housing system that leaves no citizen behind, promotes data-driven and scientific development, ensures environmental sustainability and high construction standards, and remains economically affordable, she said.

As part of this approach, the Habitat Satisfaction Index has been introduced across all 25 districts to assess the level of satisfaction among people with the settlements in which they live.

The index will assess factors including housing quality, access to drinking water and sanitation, environmental conditions, safety and public facilities.

The Prime Minister also announced plans to introduce Presidential Awards to recognise the best village, best urban community, best housing project and best environmentally friendly settlement.

In collaboration with the Clean Sri Lanka programme, the government has introduced the Green Settlement Challenge, focusing on productive home gardening, rainwater harvesting and household waste management.

The ‘One Million Trees for Human Settlements’ programme has also been launched with the aim of planting one million trees in and around settlements.

The Prime Minister said the government was further promoting the ‘My Beautiful Little Home’ concept to encourage young people to build environmentally friendly homes that are appropriate to their families and financial circumstances, rather than taking on excessive debt to construct houses beyond their actual needs.

She also said development activities had commenced in underserved urban settlements, together with vocational training and employment-centre programmes for young people under the initiative designated as ‘Settlement Renaissance Day’.

Under the ‘Jana Diya Sampatha’ initiative, designated as ‘Drinking Water Renaissance Day’, piped drinking water has been provided to settlements lacking adequate water facilities, while several community water projects have also been launched.

The government has additionally undertaken housing construction with community labour contributions and provided land ownership to people on lands released in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr. Susil Ranasinghe said the government’s objective was to provide a home of their own to every family in the country that does not currently have adequate housing.

He said the government had declared a Settlement Week rather than limiting the initiative to a single day and had implemented a comprehensive programme of activities.

The Minister said housing projects implemented with government assistance would not be allowed to remain incomplete or abandoned, stressing that every completed house should be occupied by a family.

He said the government was targeting the construction of 30,000 houses under the housing programme launched in 2026.

The government would also ensure that residents of housing schemes have access to essential facilities, including schools and healthcare services, rather than focusing solely on house construction, the Minister added.

The event was attended by members of the Maha Sangha, Deputy Minister of Housing T.B. Sarath, Kalutara District Member of Parliament A.M.P. Dhanushka Ranganath, Secretary to the Prime Minister G. Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Kumudu Lal Bogahawatta, representatives of UN-Habitat and the High Commission of India, government officials, beneficiaries and other invitees.