22nd Model Village Built with Indian Grant Assistance Handed Over in Galle

The 22nd Model Village established with grant assistance from the Government of India was inaugurated and handed over to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka’s Galle District on October 22.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, and Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Dr. H. M. Susil Ranasinghe, jointly inaugurated and handed over 24 housing units at the ‘Didula’ Model Village.

The Model Village Housing Project is being implemented across all 25 districts of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, with grant assistance from the Government of India. A Memorandum of Understanding for the initiative was signed between the governments of India and Sri Lanka in October 2017.

The project aims to provide housing facilities for 600 low-income families across the country. Each model village comprises 24 houses, with beneficiaries selected by the respective District Housing Committees.

Prior to the inauguration in Galle, model villages under the project had been inaugurated and handed over in 21 districts: Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kandy, Gampaha, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Matale, Puttalam, Colombo, Trincomalee, Monaragala, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Ratnapura, Ampara, Kurunegala, Kegalle, Kalutara and Polonnaruwa.

With the latest handover, the project has reached approximately 98.6 per cent completion. The remaining three model villages are expected to be inaugurated and handed over to beneficiaries in the near future.

District parliamentarians, the Chairman and senior officials of the National Housing Development Authority, and officials from the Galle District administration also attended the inauguration ceremony.

The initiative reflects ongoing cooperation between India and Sri Lanka to improve housing facilities and support low-income families through grant-funded development projects.