Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam has said the government has no plans to bring changes to the conditions announced for allocating land to the people of Male' City. Aslam made the statement in response to a question asked by Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Saleem at the Parliament on Thursday.
Saleem said that while the government has decided to allocate free land to the people of Male' City, there are problems in applying for the land to those who have migrated to Male' from the atolls and registered themselves in the Dhaftharu registry. Therefore, Saleem asked whether the government is considering amending the conditions for allocating land to the people of Male' to address the issue.
In his response to MP Saleem, Aslam said the government has decided to allocate land in the Male' area for Male'-registered citizens. Therefore, those who have migrated from the atolls to Male' will not get the opportunity to apply for the land, he said. However, the children of such people can apply for the land as they have lived in the city, he said.
Aslam added that some residents of the city had registered themselves in the Dhaftharu registry because they could not register themselves elsewhere. Such people can apply for the land allocated to the people of Male', he said.
"This is not an excluding those in the Dhaftharu registry. We only excluded those who migrated to the city," Aslam said.
Many people on social media are criticizing the government for allocating free land to the residents of Male' and not waiving the rent of the flats issued to some Male' citizens.
In June this year, the government opened the opportunity for Male' residents to apply for 3,000 out of 5,000 plots to be issued from the Greater Male' Area. This includes 1,000 plots from Hulhumale' and 2,000 from Gulhifalhu. Only residents of Male' who have never been registered elsewhere can apply for these plots. Any Male' resident who does not own 600 sqft of land and would not inherit land of the size can apply for these plots.
