Living unsafely in the heart of Colombo Condemned public housing schemes a living hell!

Another stakeholder connected with this housing scheme is Condominium Management Authority (CMA). CMA is the management corporation that oversees the administration of the condominium property. “According to the Condominium Management Authority Act No. 10 of 1973 if a public housing scheme exceeds 40 years, it can be redeveloped,” said Sarana Karunaratne, Chairman of the Condominium Management Authority. “This is the legal provision, but it is compulsory only where necessary. Under the Samagi Peramuna Government the Kamkarupura Housing Scheme, Samagipura housing project, Central Colombo Suriyamalpura housing scheme and several other projects were launched. 

The Common Amenity Authority was later converted as the CMA in 2003. The Torrington housing scheme for example was built around 1938. But the problem at the Wekanda housing scheme is that its main beam has burst. Therefore 114 families have to be resettled immediately and we have relocated 57 families at a new location in Henamulla. Since the remaining families are reluctant to leave we have issued ejectment notices as a last resort. With regards to the Prince of Wales housing scheme, the small boutique owners at the entrance to the scheme are reluctant to relocate,” said Karunaratne.  

Karunaratne further said that it is the responsibility of the residents to maintain their properties. “The state doesn’t have funds to carry out maintenance activities in these housing schemes. But we remove plants that have sprung out of broken pipes and walls as CSR initiatives. However, there’s a limit for the authorities as well. One other issue is that many residents thrive on smuggling and other petty ‘businesses’. So they don’t want to disconnect from their networks. In fact these are safe houses for people who run the underworld etc. But going forward we are now in the process of obtaining technical reports on each housing scheme from the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) so that we know their actual status. One of the recommendations is to ink public private partnerships where the developer will provide adequate compensation for the residents and they can ultimately shift to a vertical living culture,” he explained.

But residents at the Wekanda public housing scheme complain of difficulties. They not only find it a challenge to send their children to school, but also find it difficult to engage in their livelihoods from their new location. “These families are from low and middle income groups and they cannot afford to pay additional money for a school van and send their children to school,” said ****M. I. M Anas, an area resident. “On the other hand they (residents) have been doing their permanent businesses in and around Slave Island for a long time. How can they shift their businesses to a new location all of a sudden” he questioned. 

The NHDA website further states, ‘Generally, after a housing complex is built and handed over to the residents, they are properly maintained and run by a legal structure consisting of the respective residents called the management corporation. Failure of the management corporation to properly maintain the common facilities of the apartment complex has left the apartment complex in a dilapidated condition.’