Government tries to escape from resettlement programme

Resettlement Minister Milroy Fernando has said that the government would not allocate funds to build houses and provide financial assistance to the people who are being resettled.

The Minister made the statement in response to a question posed by us as to how much would be allocated in the 2010 budget for the resettlement of civilians in the North.

Fernando stated that food, housing and financial assistance would be provided by the World Food Programme while cement, roofing sheets and agricultural equipment would be provided by the Indian government. Other necessities of the resettled are to be addressed by INGOs like Caritas, he said.