Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam Monday said that the government did not conduct house-to-house surveys to check the living conditions of those who applied for land under the land owner program.
The administration released the preliminary list of land plot recipients for the 'Binveriya' Housing Scheme on Monday. The list, published in the Government Gazette, includes the names of those shortlisted for the scheme, finalized after evaluation. The list includes 10,314 recipients, including people who applied jointly and as separate individuals who would receive land plots under the scheme.
Aslam told a news conference at the President's Office that home visit surveys were not conducted after considering the experience of previous housing programs.
"We didn't do home visits on purpose. The previous experience was that when they knew home visits were being done, they showed us what they wanted us to see," Aslam said.
Aslam said he did not believe home visits were a means to assess applicants fairly.
Aslam said information from various government institutions was sought in compiling the recipient list. They are the Department of National Registration (DNR), Ministry of Economic Development (MED), NSPA, Civil Service Commission, Pension Office, and the courts.
Aslam said some people who applied for the land had sent messages but assured that the list was not made to grant land to specific people.
The opportunity to submit complaints to the list is open until July 15, and the permanent list will be made public soon after the window for submission of complaints closes, he said.
Aslam said the land location would be allocated when the permanent list is released.
