The Hon. T. B. Sarath - Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, during this debate on the Heads of Expenditure of the Ministries of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, and of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, I wish to answer several issues raised by the Opposition.

¶ 02 First, about a labour court case relating to the National Housing Development Authority. This is not an issue that arose under the present government. During 2015–2019, recruitments were made—“if tall, security; if short, labourer”—people were given protection even under trees. Some of those recruited were later terminated in 2020–2021. They filed cases. We accept that dismissing those who served in government institutions is not good governance. However, there are now conflicting judgments; the matter is on appeal. We must act according to the appellate decision; until then, we cannot regularize or reinstate.

¶ 03 Second, it was said we did not build 47,000 houses. In fact, during the previous period, allocations were exceeded by commencing works. When Rs. 10 billion was allocated and Rs. 25,000 each was given, construction was started on over 367,000 houses—an impractical approach. Ultimately, 58,596 beneficiaries said they did not want the loan. Even within the 45,000 units referenced in various reports (some say 45,117), a significant number remain unoccupied. Last year alone, we spent over Rs. 2 billion to complete and make these units habitable. In this Budget, around Rs. 6.83 billion has been allocated to complete such partially built houses. These were started without proper planning; hence the present burden.

¶ 04 It was also said that old parking areas in Colombo housing schemes had been irregularly converted. In the past year, we have acted to prevent such abuses. The car park at Pradeepa Mawatha has been taken over by the Housing Development Authority; tenders will be called for proper management. A final notice has been issued regarding the “C” car park—either comply with lease conditions or we will take it back. We are also working to take over the “A” and “B” car parks, prepare new estimates, and proceed to tender.

¶ 05 On low-income housing, Hon. Marikkar asked how a house can be built for Rs. 1 million. One cannot complete an entire house with that amount alone. Our approach is participatory development—“A Home for Everyone”—with community contribution. Under the present government, we reframed NHDA’s low-income housing programme as “Your Own Place – A Beautiful Life,” building with people’s participation. When we provide Rs. 1 million, the beneficiary can add Rs. 100,000–200,000 or more, and others—Sri Lanka Army, Civil Security Department, businesses, and village committees including from the National People’s Power—have contributed. Over the past year, more than 3,800 houses were advanced in this way. The previous model of awarding large contracts only enriched contractors; we are not doing that now.

¶ 06 Around Colombo—Stadiumgama, Apple Watte, and Arunodaya Mawatha—we have allocated Rs. 15 billion in this Budget to build 3,000 housing units. The overall need is about 50,000, to be built over four years. Island-wide, Rs. 5.6 billion is allocated to build 2,500 new houses. For resettlement of conflict-affected families in the North and North Central Provinces, 2,445 houses will be built with about Rs. 3.8 billion. To complete partially built NHDA houses, Rs. 6.8 billion is allocated. For landslide-prone areas, Rs. 1 billion is allocated for housing. Altogether, funds have been allocated to build over 27,000 houses under our Ministry and the UDA. Next year, we plan to develop middle-income housing through PPPs. Therefore, many Opposition arguments are not aligned with facts.

¶ 07 Over 80% of Opposition MPs thanked this Budget. I express my gratitude to them, and to the Secretaries and officials of the Ministries of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, and Urban Development, Construction and Housing, for their support. I will conclude with a quote from Comrade Lenin: operating within old capitalist frameworks is simple; choosing a new path requires higher political consciousness and organization from the people, takes time, and mistakes can occur—but only those who do nothing make no mistakes. While shortcomings may occur, we have started the work. With 2026 allocations, we will complete 100% of planned tasks, and complete at least 90% of last year’s allocations.

¶ 08 Thank you.