<span style="color: #222222;">In Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission has taken steps to allow three-fold increase in unit cost of a house under Phase-3 of Indian Housing Project, IHP. High Commissioner of India, Gopal Baglay and Sri Lanka's Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, Jeevan Thondaman exchanged diplomatic notes to allow for increase in the cost.<br />''<br />''This step would now enable expeditious completion of Phase-3 of the housing project. The increased unit cost of houses will ease construction as Sri Lanka has been facing economic crisis and inflation for the last one year.<br />''<br />''Under the Phase 3 of IHP, 4000 houses are being constructed through grant assistance by Government of India in plantation areas of Sri Lanka, spread across 7 Districts in Central, Uva and Southern Provinces. The revision of cost takes place as Indian-Origin Tamil community who are concentrated in the plantation areas marks 200 years of their arrival to Sri Lanka.<br />''Close to 46,000 houses were built in different parts of Sri Lanka under the first two phases of project.<br />''<br />''Next phase for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shall commence soon.<br />''<br />''The Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy has been instrumental in implementing several people-centric grant schemes by GOI for the IOT community.<br />''<br />''The projects carried out by the AHCI have been in several sectors including education, health, vocational training, livelihood development and several others, in addition to housing. The AHCI will also complete 100 years of establishment this year.</span><br />