- Indian HC in Colombo denies allegations
Concerns have emerged regarding the recently-commissioned Indian Housing Project (IHP) Phase IV, which aims to construct 1,300 houses across 45 plantation estates spanning 10 districts.
The timing of this long-delayed project, coinciding with imminent elections in both India and Sri Lanka, has ignited a debate about the underlying motivations behind its sudden activation.
Questions have been raised by concerned parties as to whether the commencement reflects a sincere commitment to fulfil an overdue promise or if it is a strategic political manoeuvre to leverage electoral advantage, as the timing of this sudden development – coinciding with election years in both India and Sri Lanka – has raised eyebrows and fuelled speculation about potential political motivations.
The housing project promised to Sri Lankan Indian-origin plantation workers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 2017 visit to Sri Lanka has finally kicked off after five years.
The project was inaugurated on 19 February in a virtual ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat with the participation of Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
As part of Phase IV of the IHP, the Government of India plans to build a total of 10,000 houses for plantation workers in different provinces of Sri Lanka.
Amidst the unfolding developments, there is a growing chorus of questions surrounding the adjustments made to the implementation structure of Phase IV.
Sources close to the matter alleged that the renowned International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) – acknowledged for their commendable performance as credible neutral Implementing Agencies (IA) in earlier phases – had been conspicuously excluded this time.
According to these sources, the decision to exclusively bestow the implementation authority upon State agencies, specifically the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and the State Engineering Corporation (SEC), has raised concerns.
The sources further claimed that these agencies now wielded autonomy in selecting tenderers and subsequent contractors, fuelling apprehensions about the transparency and accountability of the entire process.
Lingering questions revolve around who is responsible for this crucial task, whether tenders have already been awarded, and, if so, when this occurred.
Transparency issues surrounding the adherence to tender procedures, including the advertisement of calls for tenders in the media and Government Gazette, are central to the ongoing debate, the sources noted.
Amidst the ongoing discussions, when The Sunday Morning contacted the Indian High Commission (IHC) in Colombo, sources at the IHC emphasised that during the second and third phases of the IHP, four IAs, including the NHDA, had been engaged by the commission through a selection process.
They said that likewise, for the fourth phase also, the IHC had initiated a tender process to select IAs and that various entities, including those associated with earlier phases, had submitted responses.
The sources added that the selection process had involved transparent evaluation criteria outlined in the tender document and, as a result, the NHDA and SEC had been chosen as the IAs for the fourth phase of the project.
The IHC sources further stated that construction was being carried out by the estate communities – the beneficiaries of the project.
According to the sources, the IAs facilitate this process through suppliers and contractors to help these communities and in the current phase, no supplier or contractor has been officially engaged for the project to date.
The sources reiterated the IHC’s firm commitment to transparency in execution of all projects, including the fourth phase of the IHP.
The IHP in Sri Lanka began in June 2010 with a commitment from the Government of India to construct 50,000 houses at an estimated cost of Rs. 33 billion. The pilot project, involving the construction of 1,000 houses, started in November 2010 and concluded in July 2012.
An MoU was signed with the Government of Sri Lanka in January 2012 to outline the implementation of the remaining 49,000 houses.
The second phase, initiated on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary in October 2012, aimed to build 45,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and was completed by December 2018.
An innovative owner-driven model empowered beneficiaries to undertake construction or repair themselves, with financial assistance of Rs. 550,000 per beneficiary.
The third phase, which began in October 2016, focuses on constructing 4,000 houses for estate workers in the Central and Uva Provinces through a community-driven approach, disbursing Rs. 950,000 per beneficiary. About 2,300 houses are complete, with construction ongoing.