India yesterday clarified its status on the progress of the Housing Project undertaken to build 50, 000 houses for Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in North and East under grant assistance from the Government of India.

In a press release issued, High Commission of India in Colombo said the recent media reports saying that the Housing Project is in limbo due to the dispute over the bids for construction are baseless and misleading. These media reports quote purported remarks made at a recent DDC meeting in Jaffna.

In clarifying its position, the Indian HC said the Government of India has appointed M/s Hindustan Prefab Limited and M/s RPP Infra Projects Limited as Project Management Consultants and Contractors respectively to execute and implement the Pilot Project for 1,000 houses which will be spread over all five districts of Northern Province.
The contracted agencies have already mobilized necessary resources to undertake the Project.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Project will be completed as per schedule and the housing units will be handed over to beneficiaries during the latter half of the year," the HC statement said.

The Indian Housing Project, which is targeted to meet the bulk of the housing needs of IDPs in the foreseeable future, is being carried out in close consultation with and cooperation of the Government of Sri Lanka.

The two governments have already agreed on their respective roles and responsibilities in respect of the Pilot Project through a formal Exchange of Letters between High Commissioner of India, Ashok K. Kantha and Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Planning, Dr. P.B. Jayasundara on 26 November 2010.

"In this connection, we await a list of beneficiaries for the Pilot Project from Government of Sri Lanka drawn up on the basis of norm-based and transparent selection criteria. Early availability of the list of beneficiaries will enable completion of critical project activities in a timely manner," the HC statement added.

The High Commission notes that early implementation of the Pilot Project will also facilitate finalization of arrangements for undertaking construction of remaining 49,000 houses.