by Dilisha Abeysundara
The people in the North have been suffering for the past thirty years with war right at their doorstep and their sole wish has been to live in peace under their own roof on their land. Sadly, even after a decade since the end of the war, the authorities have failed to make their dreams a reality. The political tug-o-war between public representatives that continuously occurs without providing these unfortunate victims of the war is utterly unfair.
According to censes available at the Jaffna District Secretariat’s Office, over 150,000 northerners are in need of immediate housing. Although some of these people have been provided with houses under the housing schemes initiated by both the Indian and Sri Lankan governments, thousands remain inside refugee camps or temporary huts wishing for a home of their own. Recently the government took steps to launch another housing project to provide 65,000 houses for these displaced people. Although the project has received the Cabinet go-ahead, it has now become problematic as to whether the project is being carried out or whether it has grounded to a halt. According to reports the project has been temporarily suspended due to strong opposition from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who had carried out protests against the project in several areas in the North.
The contract for the project, which has a budget of over 1 billion USD, was given to a French company called ‘ArcelorMittal’. These houses are being constructed with a pre-fabricated form of steel and cost 2.1 million a unit. Each house has an area of 550 sq ft and consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen with a pantry cupboard and a bathroom. It also includes a solar powered water tank, furniture, a ceiling fan, a gas cooker, a TV and a laptop with a Wi-Fi internet connection. Two model housing units have already being built in Kopai and Tellipalei DS divisions. The project was given the cabinet approval on December 22, 2015.
We recently visited Selvipuram, Urupparai to meet Lakshman Dharmarajan’s mother Manomohini who is living in one of these model houses. According to her the house is far better than ordinary brick houses. “We don’t feel any cold weather. Everyone in this neighbourhood is hoping to get a house like this. Some say that these houses do not go well with our climate. But we do not know what the truth is” she said.
Divya, another resident of Selvipuram who is living with her family in a temporary house, said that she is hoping to get a house of her own after living in temporary huts for over two decades. “For over 20 years we have been living in temporary places. We have been living in these huts since the time of our parents. If we could get a house even at this point it would be a great help. We have become fed up of moving from place to place during the war. We cannot live in these huts when our children grow up. Rather than worrying about the nature of the house, we are more in need of a house of our own. Although we prefer brick houses, even these would do at this moment” she said.
Shivanesan Selvi a widow and a mother of two, is now living in a small house that she had built with her own money and with government assistance. She too said that even though she would prefer a brick house, she would still consent to receive a house like this. “We are dipped in poverty. Anything is good for us at this time. We have the problem of how to repair these houses if they break down. Living in a brick house would be much better. Minister Swaminadan recently visited this area and said that those who are willing to get these houses should inform the District Secretariats Office. We have been left helpless by the war. So we would accept anything at this moment” she said.
However there are others who have rejected receiving these houses. Kaliyugawardhan, a manual labourer, says that they need normal brick built houses. He said that he would not accept a temporary house even if it is given free.
After discussing the matter with many residents in the area, it became clear to us that these people were only accepting these houses due to their desperate situation. Although it was raining outside when we visited these houses, there was a lot of heat inside them. Accordingly it was evident to us that these houses are more suitable for cold climates rather than for the tropical Sri Lankan climate.
Expressing his views on the matter, Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneshwaran says that this project was carried out by the central government without seeking the opinion of the provincial council, and is now trying to place the responsibility on the provincial council. “The government has carried out this project under their normal Tender procedure without asking for our opinion. Now the government wants us to carry it out by ourselves. The main reason for these problems is the centralized thinking of the government. The government thinks that they are giving us what we need. There is no doubt as to the fact that these people need houses. But under this project it costs 2.1 Million Rupees for one housing unit. Considering our previous projects we could have built three houses with such an allocation. Under the Indian housing scheme, it only cost 5 1/2 lakhs for a house and in the previous government housing project it was only 7 1/2 lakhs per house. We have asked several senior Construction Engineers to assess the quality of these houses; according to them these houses contain a lot of defects. Mainly, the houses retain a lot of heat as these areas have a lot of sunlight, so it is impossible for people to live in them. These houses are built by fixing pieces together.
The middle part of these joints is formed by a spongy material which can easily be damaged by insects. The government has planned to dig a well for each house. Considering the water scarcity in Jaffna, digging 65,000 wells is going to affect the water supply. The repairs of these houses are also going to be costly. We have pointed out all these problems to the subject minister. But for some reason the government still wants to go ahead with the project. Mr Swaminadan is a very old friend of mine and I have no personal criticisms against him, but I have told him the opinion of the people” Mr Vigneshwaran said. The Chief Minister also said that Minister Swaminadan had sought his opinion about constructing 20000 houses for the displaced people in Mulathivu. However he said that such a small number of houses may create a conflict between those who have received houses and those who have not, causing a serious social unrest.
Meanwhile TNA MP A. Sumanthiran has heavily criticized Minister for Rehabilitation, Resettlement, Prison reforms and Hindu Religious Affairs M. Swaminadan at the parliament regarding this project. He has accused the minister of having financial benefits out of this project. Pointing out that the people in the North dislike these houses, the TNA MP has said that they require strong houses that could withstand at least 2,3 generations. He has said that since these houses do not even have a concrete foundation, they can be quite unstable. However, responding to these claims, Minister Swaminadan has said that if a person could remove parts of a four ton house, then he must be ‘Superman’. “I do not know why the TNA wants to stop this project from being carried out; I think there is a political motive” the minister said.
However, researches carried out by Moratuwa and Peradeniya Universities about the suitability of these houses, have concluded that these houses are not suitable for Sri Lanka. These reports have pointed at various other defects in these houses as well. But surprisingly, another research report that has been produced by the Peradeniya University has refuted these claims.
People in Jaffna and Killinochchi have protested against these houses. However, the presence of people who already have houses in these protests could only mean that they were backed by political motives. According to Minister Swaminadan the government has already received 97,000 applications for houses. Under the present circumstances the government has decided to seek direct applications from the people.
Accordingly those who are in need of houses have been requested to produce an application to the Divisional Secretariat’s Office. Several newspaper advertisements have already been published in Tamil Newspapers in the North. It was also reported in the media in recent times that Minister Swaminadan had scolded the Jaffna District Secretary for failing to distribute the application forms among the Divisional Secretaries asking him whether he was a government agent or a TNA agent. However the Jaffna District Secretary has refuted these reports.
If however the housing project is cancelled due to the protests of the TNA, the ultimate burden would once again fall onto the heads of the homeless displaced people in the North. There is no doubt that it takes a long time for another housing scheme to pass through the bureaucratic red tape. The suitability of these houses for the local weather conditions could have been checked out before initiating the project. But if the project is halted now it is only going to be detrimental for those who are suffering in refugee camps. The government expects to complete the project within 7 years. Hence the time has come to give priority to humanitarian needs above all else.
Courtesy:The Sunday Leader