Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Tamil leaders have rejected a proposed ArcelorMittal housing project for the war-affected regions in the North and East, citing its cost and unsuitability for the area. In a recent letter to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a coalition of political parties representing Northern Tamils, strongly oppose the project. They argue that the project is climatically unsuitable, has flimsy construction, lacks durability, and is unjustifiably expensive.
The global steel major, owned by billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, was to build 65,000 pre-fabricated houses for LKR 2.1 million each (approximately Rs. 9.7 lakh). However, northern Tamils, particularly those displaced during the war, are in desperate need of houses, and TNA leaders argue that they should be given masonry houses that would cost far less and could engage local labor.
This is not the first time the proposed mega project has faced resistance. Since there were indications that the government was likely to award the contract to ArcelorMittal in early 2016, the initiative ran into controversy, with civil society members and academics opposing the move. Experts from the Moratuwa University, a leading school of engineering, pointed to structural limitations in the designs.
Amid mounting pressure to drop the proposal, Minister for Resettlement D.M. Swaminathan confirmed in April that the project had been awarded to ArcelorMittal and that there was no question about awarding the tender to another, according to the State-run Daily News. A group of civil society members, including engineering professionals and architects, submitted an alternative proposal to the Sri Lankan government to build brick-and-mortar houses with a domestic financing option that would help build 1,02,000 houses, almost double the number, for the same costs. While they await an official response from the government, the tender for the massive housing project is set to be reopened, the widely-read Sunday Times reported in September.
Meanwhile, the TNA’s statement pointed to apparent pressure from Swaminathan, who members said made personal telephone calls inviting them to make a request for pre-fabricated houses in their respective electorates.
Observing that all members of the TNA were totally opposed to pre-fabricated steel houses, the leaders have sought immediate remedial action from the government.
There are several ongoing housing projects in Sri Lanka’s north and east, including a near-complete Indian housing scheme of 50,000 houses at a cost of LKR 5.5 lakh (roughly Rs. 2.5 lakh) each. Sri Lanka’s Resettlement Ministry is also building 10,000 houses in the war-affected areas at a cost of LKR 8 lakh each (roughly Rs. 3.7 lakh).
Reference : https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/Sri-Lanka%E2%80%99s-Tamil-leaders-reject-Mittal%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98overpriced%E2%80%99-steel-houses-for-the-war-hit/article16668465.ece
