Housing Minister: Plot’s location may change, but island will not

Housing Minister Dr. Ali Haidar said on Monday that the location of some of the plots issued under the former administration’s ‘Binveriya’ scheme may be subject to change.

Thousands of recipients of land under the first phase of the scheme had already been issued land registries before the new administration took office last weekend. They were also given a drawing of where their plots are located in.

In his first press conference as Housing Minister, Haidar criticized the former administration for lack of planning before running the housing scheme.

He said the current administration finds this unacceptable.

“It’s just squares. Theres no space for facilities or any empty space. I believe issuing land in this manner, by just drawing some squares, will be a hardship for the people who will be living there,” he said.

“We might have to change the locations when we develop these places under a good urban plan.”

Haidar said that though the location may slightly differ, neither the size of the plot nor the island where the land will be issued from will change.

“We will allocate a different location from the same place. From [Hulhumale’] Phase III if its Phase III, and from Gulhifalhu if its Gulhifalhu,” he said.

Haidar said the location will only change if the current administration has different plans for the areas in question.

He added that the administration’s goal is to ensure people are able to live content lives on their lands.

Haidar said that the issuance of land alone isn’t enough, but the places need additional facilities to make it livable.