India is going to build houses in Sri Lanka for Tamils

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has declared a pilot project to construct 1,000 houses for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), ie. Tamils, in northern and eastern Sri Lanka will begin soon.

During the recent visit of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to New Delhi on the Lankan Tamils rehabilitation, assured to ensure the construction of 50,000 houses for the displaced Lankan Tamils as part of the rehabilitation process, commenced after the monsoon.

“We had urged that there should be significant prog-ress in providing shelter to rehabilitate the Tamils and Mr Rajapaksa assured that the work will be taken up after the monsoon,” Mr Chidambaram told reporters.

Mr Rajapaksa informed the construction of houses was progressing well, for displaced Tamils who were rehabilitated in their original settlements. The Indian government had told Colombo that significant progress had to be made to expedite the works.

Moreover Indian government is also providing Rs. 500 crore, setting up an Indian emergency field hospital, sending de-mining teams, supplying 7,800 tonnes of shelter and roofing material and 70,000 agricultural starter-packs and gifting 4 lakh cement bags — India was also assisting it in railway infrastructure projects, KKS harbour rehabilitation, setting up vocational training centres and development of civil infrastructure