31,000 houses to be built under Home Development Programme

23 February 2026 03:15 pm Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 7 Bookmark

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By Poojathmi Rivithma

Colombo, Feb. 23 (Daily Mirror) - A total of 31,000 houses will be constructed under the Home Development Programme, marking a significant step towards improving housing facilities and uplifting the living standards of low-income communities.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Dr. H.M. Susil Ranasinghe, said that six ministries are taking part in the programme, with 25,000 houses to be built under the Direct Aid scheme targeting low-income families.

He stated that an allocation of Rs. 10 billion has been made to assist 10,000 families under the Housing Aid Programme, with Rs. 1 million provided to each selected family for the construction of a house.

The project commenced on January 16 in Jaffna in the presence of the President, while the second phase began on January 28 in Galle with the participation of the Prime Minister.

Officials said that on February 25, a total of 1,500 families will receive Rs. 1.5 billion in housing aid to construct 1,500 houses, with the distribution taking place in the presence of relevant ministers across 13 districts.

Ranasinghe noted that the first batch of payments has been released, and the target of assisting 10,000 families is expected to be completed by November 2026.

Comments - 7

Aravind Dissanayake Monday, 23 February 2026 03:30 PM

Great !! No Lights and Gas !! I have done the best !!

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THE GOVT MUST THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, WHEN MONEY IS HANDED OUT ESPECIALLY TO THE POOR AND LOW INCOME PEOPLE. WE CAN SEE THERE WILL BE ISSUES IN THIS DECISION TO HAND OVER MONEY INSTEAD OF GETTING THE H Monday, 23 February 2026 03:36 PM

Building houses for the low income citizens is great, but WHY give them Rs.1 Million instead of building the houses and handing over to them?. What if they misuse the money by spending it on other things they require and the houses end up partly built. The GOVT should hand over the building of houses to a reputable Architect in the country for a standard design and call for tenders from our local well reputed builders. Why leave the low in come people to get the design of their homes, plans drawn up and go looking for builders to put the houses up?. This decision must be seriously looked into or else cheap houses will be put up by those selected and down the line the issues will come up and then what?. Most poor and low income families needs are more than housing alone, the money can easily be spent on food clothing, arrack and drugs!!.

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THE GOVT MUST THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX ........ Monday, 23 February 2026 10:35 PM

WHY NOT PUT THE COMMENT I SENT IN REFERENCE UNP PUTTING FORWARD YOUNG BLOOD (WELL SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT). THANKS FOR PUTTING MY COMMENT UP IN THIS INSTANCE, AT LEAST I AM POSITIVE THE GOVT WILL MAKE NOTE AND SUGGESTIONS.

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RanjithT Monday, 23 February 2026 04:27 PM

What sort of a program is this? How can government just release Rs, 1,000,000 per family without any plan BOQ, land ownership etc. It takes time and who is the lending the funds ministry or through the banks? What are the terms and conditions, selection process etc. Washingtons start bragging. BTW what happened to those dud cheques given by the comrade casual President.

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Pusa Monday, 23 February 2026 04:43 PM

More talk ! Does this gov do anything besides talking ?

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Priyan66 Monday, 23 February 2026 05:48 PM

Give a pre-loaded debit card to buy building materials from registered vendors. People should fund the labour costs. else the money given may use for other works and waste tax payers money

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Atputham Tuesday, 24 February 2026 01:22 PM

First hand over the houses already built in Vavuniya, Amparai districts. These houses are kept shut. Please make homeless people to move in. Help them for six months. Encourage them to settle and do a job such as agriculture life stock farms. The problem is the officers are lazy and not bothered to hand over the houses.

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