A five-member expert committee has been appointed to identify and resolve failures in housing projects implemented under the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) between 2015 and 2019, with an additional Rs. 11.26 billion estimated to complete the remaining units, Housing, Construction and Water Supply Minister Dr. Susil Ranasinghe said.
The committee, which includes two former ministry secretaries and an additional secretary, has three months to submit recommendations to resolve issues that have arisen across the programme. Cabinet approval for the appointment was granted recently.
During the 2015–2019 period, the NHDA planned 2,562 housing projects covering a target of 64,407 houses across three streams: housing assistance for 1,138 villages, housing loan schemes for 1,334 villages, and 90 villages under assistance from the Government of India. Only about 386 villages have been completed and declared open so far, with just 10,532 houses fully constructed under the programme — about 16 percent of the original target.
The committee’s mandate is distinct from a broader Cabinet revision of the national housing policy approved in April, which set out future-facing reforms. This new panel is focused specifically on the backlog of stalled units inherited from the 2015–2019 cohort.
The Rs. 11.26 billion gap comes as the ministry simultaneously oversees parallel programmes including Indian assistance-funded 145 plantation houses and the rollout of temporary housing for 500 Cyclone Ditwah-affected families by end-May. Minister Ranasinghe said the committee will provide a structured pathway to close out the backlog rather than expand new commitments while legacy units remain incomplete.
Sources: NewsFirst — Expert Committee to Fix 2015-2019 National Housing Project Failures.
