High Commission of India
Colombo 

PRESS RELEASE

21^st Model Village in Polonnaruwa built with Indian Grant Support handed over to beneficiaries

On 04 September 2026, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha, and Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Hon. T.B Sarath, jointly inaugurated and handed over 24 housing units in 'Suhada Gama' Model Village in Polonnaruwa district. Hon. (Dr). Jagath Wickramarathna, Speaker of Parliament, joined the inauguration ceremony.

2. 2. The Model Village Housing Project is being implemented in all 25 districts of the island jointly with the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply of Sri Lanka with grant support from Government of India. A Memorandum of Understanding for the initiative was signed in October 2017 between Governments of India and Sri Lanka.
   
   
3. 3. The project encompasses housing facilities for 600 low-income families of Sri Lanka, with each model village consisting of 24 houses per district for families selected by the District Housing Committees.
   
   
4. 4. Model villages under the project have earlier been inaugurated and handed over in 20 districts: Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kandy, Gampaha, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Matale, Puttalam, Colombo, Trincomalee, Monaragala, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Ratnapura, Ampara, Kurunegala, Kegalle and Kalutara. The project progress is nearly 98.5% complete and the remaining four model villages are expected to be inaugurated and handed over to the beneficiaries soon.
   
   
5. 5. The inauguration event was also attended by District Parliamentarians, Chairman and senior officials from National Housing Development Authority, officials from Polonnaruwa district administration.

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Colombo
04 September 2026