Recipients of land tenures and flats for category A announced

Recipients of land tenures and flats for category A were announced today, under Veshifahi Male’ Program commenced during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration in 2011.

Housing Ministry said that 770 applications were submitted for category A for the 250 land tenures from Hulhumale’, however only 393 fulfilled the requirements. The number of applications submitted for the flats in Male’ was 339, out of which only 167 fulfilled the requirements. For Hulhumale’ flats, 77 applications were submitted, out of which only 27 fulfilled the requirements.

Speaking at a press conference held to provide information on the recipients of flats and land tenures, which has also been published in the government gazette, Deputy Minister for Housing Abdullah Mutthalib said that the former government had handed over symbolic letters to some recipients of flats and land tenures, but several of these recipients were not included in the list of recipients compiled based on points.

Speaking further in this regard, he said that 11 parties were given symbolic letters at a ceremony held on 26 July, and 93 symbolic letters promising land plots were handed out at a ceremony held on 23 August. Also, a ceremony was held in Hiriya School on 20 December to sign agreements with 41 groups who had been promised, through symbolic letters, land tenures in Hulhumale’. Five more symbolic letters were also handed out in this ceremony.

He noted that 37 out of the 115 who had been given symbolic letters of land tenures in Hulhumale’ were not on the list of recipients of land tenures, and 14 out of the 41 parties with whom agreements had been signed were also not on the list.

Mutthalib said that recipients of land tenures and flats were announced today after checking the forms to determine that the lists of those who fulfill the requirements, and those who do not fulfill the requirements, are made correctly.

He added that the agreements will be signed with the recipients announced today after checking if the land plots are defined and ready for use by the government. A check will also be made whether the plot is registered under the recipient’s name. In addition, the land tenure or flat will be taken away from a recipient if it is proven later that the information given by him is incorrect.

Speaking at today’s press conference, Housing Minister Mohamed Muiz said that flats will be given from Hulhumale’ to parties which are not on the list, in order to honor the agreements made with them.

He also said that symbolic letters were handed out to applicants by the former government, before they were assigned points, simply for the sake of holding a ceremony.

“The former government did this in relation to certain days, I believe just for the sake of holding those ceremonies. For example, the ceremony held on 20 December was to politically influence the conference held by former opposition parties on 23 December,” Muiz said.