Commanderâ€™s New â€˜Housing Initiativeâ€™ in Full Swing

Commander's New 'Housing Initiative' in Full Swing

The novel ‘House Construction’ project for families of fallen War Heroes and differently able War Heroes which saw its birth as the brainchild of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva, is now in full swing at all Regimental levels as directed by the Commander of the Army in the third week of April, 2015.

By May 15, in less than three weeks after the Commander’s directive, 18 Regiments swiftly jumped into action and have already laid foundations to build 35 new houses in recipients’ own land slots, made available by two of the selected beneficiaries to their respective regiments for erection. Each house has been estimated at Rs 1.5 million and additional costs have to be shared by the recipient, if they so need any alterations or extensions to the individual construction as they desire.

Under the Phase I of the project, respective regiments supply 60% of the construction cost while the remainder is to be supplemented by the Army Directorate of Welfare which also acts as the coordinator for the project.

This new initiative came into effect after the Commander closely observed and evaluated the need for proper and decent housing facilities for family members of fallen War Heroes and differently able ones, who have rendered an invaluable service to the country as true patriotic sons of Sri Lanka during the war for peace before 2009.

Keen on the successful completion of the the project within three months (Phase I), the Commander on Thursday (21) assessed the status quo and received a detailed feedback from the Directorate of Welfare, headed by Brigadier D.A.R Ranawaka with a view to learning about the progress as Ranaviru commemorative events are on.

The Phase II of this new housing project will commence, giving priority to the next segment of relatives and differently able War Heroes, latest by the end of July, this year after all documents, related to land ownership, architectural design, estimate, assessment, etc, are produced by future beneficiaries to their respective regiments.

Under the Phase I, relatives of fallen War Heroes and injured War Heroes from Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC), Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA), Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE), Sri Lanka Signal Corps (SLSC), Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI), Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR), Gemunu Watch (GW), Gajaba Regiment (GR), Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (VIR), Mechanized Infantry Regiment (MIR), Commando Regiment (CR), Special Forces (SF), Military Intelligence Corps (MIC), Sri Lanka Army Service Corps (SLASC), Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC), Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps (SLAGSC), Sri Lanka National Guard (SLNG) and Sri Lanka Army Women’s Corps (SLAWC), were among the beneficiaries under this new scheme, initiated by the Commander.