India-Sri Lanka Partnership Advances Housing for Badulla Plantation Community
By Srinivas Iyer
The foundation stone for 51 new housing units under the Indian Housing Project (IHP) was laid at Alagolla Estate in Sri Lanka’s Badulla district on September 29, 2026, marking another step in India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka.
Assistant High Commissioner in Kandy Saranya V. S. laid the foundation stone alongside Sri Lanka’s Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure K.V. Samantha Vidyaratna and Deputy Minister Pradeep Sundaralingam.
The houses are being constructed under Stage 2 of Phase IV of the Indian Housing Project, launched in October 2025 by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Phase IV envisages 10,000 houses for the plantation community across six provinces.
The Indian Housing Project is a flagship Government of India development initiative in Sri Lanka, with around 60,000 houses being constructed through grant assistance exceeding INR 18 billion. The first two phases saw 46,000 houses built or renovated in the Northern and Eastern provinces, followed by 4,000 houses in plantation regions during the third phase.
India’s development partnership with Sri Lanka also covers initiatives benefiting plantation communities and the Indian-origin Tamil community. These include a multi-specialty hospital in Dickoya, smart classrooms, upgrading of nine plantation schools and support for the development of Seetha Eliya Temple.
In July 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a multi-sectoral package of INR 750 million to mark 200 years of the arrival of the Indian-origin Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
The ceremony was attended by officials from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, representatives of the Plantation Human Development Trust and local beneficiaries from Alagolla Estate.
