Reflections on over 100 years of urban housing policies in Sri Lanka

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Social Sciences 2013, 2(1): 14-21 19increased in this period. The Urban Housing DevelopmentAuthority (UHDA) was established in 2009 for dealing withthe urban housing issues. Although the new authority wasdeveloped with good intentions, it did not succeed as expected,and at present the UHDA is a redundant organisationattached to the Ministry of Housing.11. 2009 Onward - Relocation of theUnder-served Settlement ProgramThe civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009. In 2010, PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa won another extension of hispresidency with a huge majority. As a response to the end of30 years of civil unrest, the government’s priorities andpolitical agendas have shifted from military and defence to afocus on the economic boom and the overall well-being ofthe country. The 30-year civil war resulted in huge economicdamage to Colombo as the commercial capital of the country.The construction industry was totally paralysed during thatperiod, which greatly discouraged the construction ofhigh-rise low-income projects in the city, as high-risebuildings were seen as easy targets for terrorists [21]. Apeaceful environment and political stability have providedthe right environment for radical policy decisions, especiallyin regards to housing and since the government has made theeconomic development of the country a priority. The politicalslogan of the Rajapaksa government is “The miracle ofSouth Asia” [22]. The gateway of that miracle is Colomboport, but the extensive number of slums and shanties that arelocated in that area are one of the main challenges forachieving their goals. Most of the under-served settlementshave historically encroached on government-owned primelands in the city, providing another barrier discouragingforeign and local investment in to the city. Considering all ofthese factors, the government decided to take immediateaction in re-housing under-served settlements in Colombo,and best option chosen to do this was to refocus on thecompact city concept which had been introduced in 2000.The relocation of under-served settlement project, alsocalled the 66,000 Low-Income Housing Project, was themain program for addressing under-served settlements inColombo. Considering the priority and urgency of the outcome,this project is supervised by the president MihindaRajapaksa directly and co-ordinated by the Secretary ofDefence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. All logistic, planning andimplementation work was the responsibility of the UrbanDevelopment Authority as a top priority project [18].Land exchange is the main funding mechanism for thisproject. More than 300 hectares of land has been illegallyencroached upon by the low-income people in Colombo andthe strategy of the government was to release two-thirds ofthis land (approximately 200 hectares) for sale on the openmarket. Initial capital was generated by issuing debentureson the open market and 8.2 billion rupees were receivedwithin four days of opening the initial public offering on 24September 2010 [23]. The debentures will also be listed onthe Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The 66,000 HousingProject is a two-way process, and its slogan “Houses forPeople and Land for Investment” reflects this. Unlike previousgovernment initiatives, this is not solely a housing orshanty upgrading project [23].The prospectus for debentures states that the UDA ishoping to finance the construction of nearly 30,000 housingunits as an initial move to relocate part of the under-servedsettlements in and around Colombo, which is currently believedto house nearly 66,000 families [23] . The total estimatedcost for the construction of all 66,000 housing units is132 billion rupees, with each unit valued at two millionrupees [23]. Nihal Fenando, Director General of the UDA,stated that that “Phase One construction of 12,500 housingunits as high-rise apartments will be implemented within2011 as a priority”[23]. He added that “[the] phased outrelocation programme is expected to be completed withinthree years. Proposed Housing Units will be allocated to thetarget segment on an out right basis for a nominal value”[18].Phase one of the program is expected to liberate 150 acresof land within Colombo city, with an estimated 25 billionrupees to be raised by releasing around 75 to 80 acres ofliberated lands to prospective investors on long-term leasebasis [23].Surath Wickramasinghe, the President of the Chamber ofConstruction Industry in Sri Lanka, stated:We must commend the Government and the DefenceMinistry in particular for embarking on a challenging projectto relocate 60,000-70,000 housing units in under-servedsettlements occupying prime land in the City Colombo” [18]He further stated that he expected that after the relocationthere would be more than 1,000 acres of liberated land inthe city of Colombo that will pave the way for the developmentof a “world-class” city with integratedstate-of-the-art infrastructure that would attract leadinginvestors and developers and be competitive with otherAsian developing countries, like Singapore [18]. This wouldtrigger growth in foreign and local businesses with all otherservices also expected to flourish and further develop thecity. To be successful, this concept must be supported by afinancial and business hub that contains entertainment andshopping; culture, arts, exhibitions and festivals; knowledgeand multimedia technology; greenery, open spaces andplaygrounds; and modern, smart and sustainable housing.12. Housing Policies for High-RiseHousingThe multi-storied housing concept was introduced to SriLanka in the 1950s by Sirimavo Bandaranayake’s government.It was believed this type of housing was suitable formost flats constructed for low and middle-class families andit was a new type of housing for most of the urban populationof Colombo. Almost all of the multi-storied housingcomplexes that were built at this time had a maximum height
20 Thushara Samaratunga et al.: <strong>Reflections</strong> on over 100 years of urban housing policies in Sri Lankaof five storeys, with most of them being four-level (groundplus three levels) compact housing units. However, it takestime for people to adapt to new types of housing, and due tolack of experience living in this kind of housing, people haddifficulties living there generally get straggle in the beginning[6]The first legislation related to high-rise developments inSri Lanka was the Condominium Property Act No. 12 of1970, which was a formal statement of the housing policiesof the then government. The government was very concernedabout the households who were renting in high-risebuildings and wanted to make them the owners of theirapartments. The construction of large-scale multi-storiedbuildings in Sri Lanka started with the introduction of theApartment Ownership Law No. 11 of 1973. Before 1973, tosubdivide of a multi-storey building and then transfer partof the ownership of the building was very difficult andcomplicated. This law provided opportunities to divide amulti-storey housing complex into a number of independentdwelling units which would then continue under separateownership. The apartment ownership law was amended bythe Condominium Act No. 45 of 1982. This Act defines acondominium as: an independent unit in a condominiumplan which is designed for independent use consisting of oneor more rooms whether occupying the entire or part of one ormore storey and which is shown as a separate unit in acondominium plan and includes a unit specified as accessoryunit area in such plan; provided that, such defined space hasa common area leading to a road access and not through itany enclosed space of the description [6].The recent market conditions have witnessed the developmentof two kinds of condominiums, one kind which isconsidered in the ‘luxury’ category for upper income groupsand the other one which is considered in the ‘necessity’category for lower income groups. The Sri Lankan legislation(Condominium Law No. 45 of 1982) uses the word‘condominium’ to refer to a multi-owned apartment block,usually high-rise and high density. In Sri Lanka, two lawsgovern the legality of condominium development. These arethe Apartment Ownership Law (No.11, 1973) and CondominiumAct (No. 45, 1982). Both these laws provide for thepossibility of multiple ownership of a property where eachunit within a building can be owned by separate users [11]Several other laws also define the comfort conditions,set-back restrictions, building heights, volumes, rents andother physical characteristics of such developments. It isinteresting to note that, when defining a condominium, theSri Lankan Condominium Act specifies how each unit isconstituted and also specifies that each is an independentdwelling unit with defined area but has abstained from definingthe ownership aspect of each unit. This implies thatownership of the property could be of the whole condominiumor of the individual units separately.High-rise housing (buildings of above five storeys) forlow-income people is a relatively new concept in Sri Lanka.It was first attempted in 2001 under the guidance of thePresidential Task Force appointed by President ChandrikaBandaranayake. Sahaspura was the first and only project tocome out of this program - during the last 10-year periodnone of other proposed high-rise low-income housingprojects in Colombo began construction due to the situationcaused by the civil war. Some low-rise low-income housingprojects were constructed during this period, but thesebuildings do not exceed five storeys. In 2010 the governmentmade a strong policy decision to relocate 66,000low-income people from under-served settlements intohigh-rise housing. This was the second and largest wave ofhigh-rise low-income housing in Colombo. Cabinet approvalhas been granted for this project and the entire projectis to be directly coordinated by the Ministry of Defence. TheUrban Development Authority is the operational arm of thisproject. The construction of 7,000 housing units has commencedat the time off this research and another 12,000housing projects are in the pipeline [23]As a government policy, high-rise housing has been acceptedas an alternative solution for low-income people inColombo. However, there is still much that must be done toensure the government’s policy achieves the targets thecountry expects and needs from this policy reform. Eventhough high-rise low-income housing is relatively new to SriLanka, it is not a new concept in the world. Therefore, anunderstanding of international experiences will be essentialfor reducing the risks associated with high-rise housing, andwell-qualified housing experts are needed to take on thischallenge.13. ConclusionPolicies, and legislation are the main governing factors ofany physical development in a country. Ministries, authorities,departments, corporations and designated entities arethe operational arm of the policies and laws. A good combinationof these two mechanisms will have a positiveend-result, achieving the targeted aims. However, policiesand institutions have changed frequently in Sri Lanka, withmuch development and legislation heavily influenced bypolitical interest. Looking at the over 100 years of SriLankan housing policies, it is evident that housing policieswere closely aligned with party politics, and changed asconstantly as the political parties did. This paper dividedSri Lankan housing policies into main three categories: priorto independence (before 1948); after political independenceand during the civil war (1948–2008) and the current situationafter 30 years of civil war (2009 onwards). Furthermore,this paper paid attention to urban housing policies for thelow-income category and policy development regardinghigh-rise housing as an alternative solution for urban housingissues. Finally, the paper analysed the contemporaryhousing situation in the country after end of 30 years ongoingcivil war and the institutional reform that resulted inthe massive under-served settlement clearance programundertaken by the Ministry of Urban Development andDefence.
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