Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has said the government will propose laws to ban the construction of houses along the coasts, local media reported Tuesday.

"The government will enforce this law strictly, considering the safety of the people," the Daily News newspaper quoted the president as saying.

The president reportedly appealed to tsunami victims against making any hasty attempt to reconstruct their damaged homes within a 200-meter limit from the seashore, adding that such attempts will be declared illegal.

Kumaratunga said that the victims will be provided with housing units 200 meters away from the coast at the government expense. The government has been informed that the tsunami-affected people have already started rebuilding their shelters within this limit, she said.

"We believe that the process of constructing new houses for the homeless can be completed within three to four months," the president said.

She said the Urban Development Authority and the National Housing Development Authority will come up with their plans by Jan.15 and to start the reconstruction process by Jan. 20 after allocating funds for the projects.

"We don't want to just repair the destroyed areas as they are. We will take this opportunity to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure in a well planned manner," said the president.

She said the government requests donors to contribute towards the reconstruction process through the government. The government and international non-governmental organizations are working closely in the reconstruction process, the president added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2005)