29 Sri Lanka MPs to lose discount on houses
COLOMBO – A concessional scheme where houses constructed by Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority (UDA) were sold to Members of Parliament whose homes were destroyed during public unrest in 2022, has been abolished with immediate effect, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.
“Due to this concessional scheme, the Urban Development Authority has had to suffer a loss of about Rs 92.126 million and has not been able to cover the costs incurred,” Jayatissa told reporters.
The 101 housing units in the Viyathpura Housing Complex were rented to MPs whose houses were set on fire by mobs during the unrest that broke out on May 9, 2022.
The then Cabinet approved a proposal to rent the houses to the MPs for a year.
Later, the MPs asked that they be allowed to buy the properties.
The then Cabinet approved a proposal to sell the houses to the MPs on the basis that they pay 25% of the sale price upfront and the rest over 15 years at an interest rate of 10% a year.
The units were valued at between 15.5 million rupees and 22 million rupees, but were quoted to the MPs between 13.34 million rupees and 18.21 million rupees.
Twenty-nine former MPs have paid 25% of the sale price instalment as of December 31, 2024, to purchase houses under the subsidized scheme.
The present Cabinet has approved a proposal to abolish the concessional scheme with immediate effect.
“If the 29 relevant MPs like, they can purchase the houses at the market rate,” Jayatissa said.
-economynext.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.