Cabinet nod for repair, rebuilding of houses in Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) As part of its efforts to rebuild war-torn northern region of Sri Lanka, India will undertake reconstruction and repair of 49,000 houses for Tamil civilians displaced due to the decades-old conflict at a cost of Rs 1300 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today in line with a promise made by him to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the latter's visit here in June, 2010. Under the project, 38,000 houses under the owner-drive model for Internally-displaced Persons (IDPs) will be reconstructed, 5000 houses will be repaired and 6000 houses will be constructed for vulnerable sections of IDPs in the northern and eastern provinces and for IOTs in central and Uva Provinces. "A total expenditure of Rs.1319 crore will be incurred on this. The project will benefit 49,000 internally displaced persons and Indian Origin Tamils in Sri Lanka," an official statement said.