Among numerous other projects under its High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) framework in Sri Lanka, Government of India (GoI) has been extending financial assistance to three housing-sector projects: Gram Shakthi Northern, Gram Shakthi Southern I and Gram Shakthi Southern II, under Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed in October 2017 and October
Under the provisions of the MoUs, GoI was releasing SLR 500,000 to low-income families selected by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) for construction of houses under the owner-driven model in the Northern and Southern provinces. Due to price escalations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, as well as the economic challenges that arose in Sri Lanka in 2022, the projects’ beneficiaries found it difficult to complete the construction of their houses within the allocated assistance. Accordingly, based on request from GoSL, GoI agreed to double the financial support per house to SLR 1,000,000.
Diplomatic Letters to effect the revised assistance were exchanged by High Commissioner H.E Santosh Jha and Secretary, Ministry of Housing Construction and Water Supply Eng. L.B. Kumudu Lal at a ceremony held at the High Commission of India on 30 December 2025. Over 1550 families will be benefitted by the revised assistance under the three projects.
‘Housing’ figures prominently among the numerous sectors in which people-centric development cooperation initiatives of India are bringing a positive impact in the everyday lives of the people of Sri Lanka. Close to 50,000 houses have been constructed and handed over under the flagship Indian Housing Project in the Northern and Eastern provinces and plantation regions of Sri Lanka. Construction of another 10,000 houses is underway as part of Phase IV of the project. Besides the 3 Gram Shakthi projects to which financial support was revised upwards on 30 December, India is also implementing other HICDPs in the sector in Sri Lanka. These include the island-wide Model Village Project covering housing facilities for 24 low-income families in each of the 25 districts of the country; transit houses for pilgrims visiting the Madhu Shrine near Mannar; and the recently completed Ven. Shobhita Nahimigama project in Anuradhapura. Assistance to support construction of fully and partially damaged houses is also proposed under the USD 450 million reconstruction and recovery package for Sri Lanka announced by GoI in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah.
