Housing scheme for War Heroes to commence in April

Colombo: The first phase of the Ippologama Ranaviru Gammanaya (village of war heroes) in the Kekirawa electorate in the Anuradhapura district will be commissioned in April.

The housing scheme comprising 1,620 middle-class housing units valued at Rs. 2.4 million each, is constructed in 10 perches.

The project was initiated in 2006 to build 50,000 houses for Armed Forces personnel as pledged in the Mahinda Chinthana. Ippologama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Nihal Tilakawardane said 485 housing units will be handed over to house owners by the Armed Forces’ Welfare Committees in April.

The cost of the project has been estimated at Rs. 6,700 million. Though the estimated value of one house is Rs. 2.4 million, a house owner has to pay only Rs. 800, 000.

The Government offers a subsidy of Rs. one million whereas the balance Rs. 06 Lakhs is reimbursed by the Api Wenuwen Api Fund.

The balance could be settled within 20 years on instalment, Tilakawardane said.