India infuses more funds to construct Sobitha Thera Village

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Urban Development and Housing Ministry Secretary W.S. Sathyananda signed and exchanged diplomatic letters on 21 March, 2024, to formalize the Government of India’s (GOI) decision to provide an additional grant of SLR 150 million for the Construction of Houses and Infrastructure Facilities in Sobitha Thera Village in Anuradhapura. With this, the GOI’s total commitment to the project currently stands at SLR 450 million, the Indian HC said.

With the formalization of the additional grant amount, 90 houses shall be constructed in the village with the GOI grant. The project is currently underway and the proposed houses are at various stages of construction. The project is being executed in collaboration with the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera Commemoration Foundation.

Responding to the drastic changes in the economic landscape of Sri Lanka, the GOI decided to infuse additional funds into nine ongoing grant projects in order to expeditiously complete these projects, while also minimizing the impact of the sharp rise in cost of construction materials on the original scope of projects. The extent of additional funds is up to 50% of the original commitment by the GOI in each of the nine projects.