All 27 low-income housing complexes built in the Colombo District have deteriorated to a state where they are no longer suitable for residents to live in, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara told Parliament today (9).
Responding to a question raised by SJB MP Harsha de Silva, the Minister acknowledged longstanding concerns over the condition of apartment complexes built under past urban resettlement programmes.
During the debate, de Silva pointed out that governments generally follow Sri Lanka’s National Involuntary Resettlement Policy, introduced in 2001, only when projects are funded by institutions such as the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank, due to donor-imposed conditions.
He argued that the policy is often not implemented when projects are financed through Government funds or other lenders, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
De Silva said resettlement policies should not depend on the requirements of lenders and urged the Government to establish a universal legal framework that safeguards livelihoods, children’s education and the social welfare of displaced communities.
Referring to past resettlement programmes, he alleged that during the tenure of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, residents were relocated to apartment complexes without proper planning or consultation.
He claimed that in some instances people were moved into eight-storey housing blocks that lacked even basic facilities such as lifts and other essential infrastructure.
Gunasekara agreed that such shortcomings existed and said the Government was currently exploring ways to improve infrastructure within the existing 27 housing complexes to ensure residents could live in more humane conditions.
The Minister said plans were also underway to complete 11 new housing projects and resettle more than 7,000 families. Future resettlement efforts, he said, would take into account employment opportunities, children’s education and other social needs.
He further announced that the Government intends to introduce a new national policy establishing minimum standards for the resettlement of low-income communities. The policy is expected to be formalised through the Urban Development Authority and presented to Parliament.
Addressing a separate issue concerning unauthorised settlers along the section from Edirisinghe Road to Navinna, Gunasekara said a survey conducted by the UN-Habitat had identified 93 residential and non-residential structures in the area.
According to the Minister, housing allocations have already been approved for 75 affected families, while appeals relating to a further eight housing units have been referred to relevant committees for consideration.
He said the families were initially expected to be resettled at the Kolombage Mawatha housing complex. However, due to project delays, the Government is now planning to relocate them to a housing scheme being constructed in Katuwala, Maharagama under a Chinese-funded housing project.
Gunasekara said the affected families are expected to be resettled before the end of this year.
He also stressed that there are no plans to provide housing for the group in Maligawatte.
