Minister: Land agreements revised due to legal contradictions

Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr. Abdulla Muthalib states the agreement for land plots issued under ‘Binveriya’ housing scheme has been revised due to legal contradictions.

The Minister’s remarks come amid concerns surrounding revisions to agreements pertaining to land plots issued from Gulhifalhu under the ‘Binveriya’ scheme.

The Minister, via a post on X, said Article 11 of the Land Act clearly stipulates how state dwellings are awarded.

In this regard, he explained that Article 11 (a) of the Land Act details state dwellings for residential purposes are can only be awarded to Maldivian citizens who do not already own a state or private dwelling, a government-constructed flat, or co-own a building or part of a dwelling that has been legally divided under Section 15 of the Act.

He further explained that Article 11 (c) of the Act specifies that no individual may be granted more than one dwelling on the same island. However, it allows for the issuance of an additional dwelling on a different island for residential use, under a lease determined by the government in accordance with regulations established under the Act.

As such, Minister Muthalib said the agreements for land issued under ‘Binveriya’ scheme has been revised to ensure there are no legal contradictions in agreements entered into the by the state.

The original agreements under the ‘Binveriya’ scheme required recipients who owned a land plot of 600 square feet or less within the “Malé area” to forfeit their ownership. However, the revised agreements have expanded this condition, changing the wording from “Malé area” to “anywhere in the Maldives.”

The reclamation of Gulhifalhu commenced last year’s July. The project was awarded to Dutch company, Boskalism for USD 120 million (MVR 2 billion).

The former administration planned to issue 2,000 land plots from Gulhifalhu. However, the current administration has increased the number of land plots which will be issued from Gulhifalhu to 3,520. This is inclusive of the land plots of individuals who had received land plots from Giraavarufalhu that requested to switch.

Although the former administration had taken the draw among Gulhifalhu land recipients – the current administration initiated another draw after changing the land use plan, which changed to the location of their plots. This move was criticized by the opposition.

The government began signing the new agreement with the recipients and issuing registries this morning.