Changes to Land Agreements Made to Comply with Law, Says Minister

MV+ News Desk | July 7, 2025
Minister of Construction, Housing, and Infrastructure, Dr Abdulla Muththalib, at the parliamentary session today, April 28, 2025 | Photo: Parliament

Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr Abdulla Muththalib has stated that the new land agreements issued under the Land Owner Scheme were revised because they conflicted with the Maldives Land Act.

Responding to a news report via X, the Minister clarified that the updated agreements for beneficiaries allocated plots in Gulhifalhu—issued yesterday—were amended to ensure legal conformity. He cited Article 11 (a) and (c) of the Maldives Land Act, which explicitly outlines how public land may be allocated for residential use.

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According to Article 11:

  • (a) Public land for residential purposes can be granted, as per Article 15 of this regulation, to a citizen who has not been granted land, part of a land plot, or an apartment in a government-constructed building. However, if the individual owns such property as outlined in Article 15, they must relinquish ownership before receiving new land.
  • (c) Once the Act came into effect, individuals cannot let go of ownership of more than one lot of public land from a single island. If someone receives a residential land plot on a different island, it must be allocated in line with regulations established under the law.

On July 1, the ministry launched a new application process to create a fresh registry, invalidating previous registrations under the scheme. This follows amendments to Gulhifalhu’s Land Use Plan, which required the relocation of plots initially allocated by the former administration.

Earlier, the government had issued land from Giraavaru, but following the updated Land Use Plan, those plots will now come from Gulhifalhu. As a result, previous agreements were nullified, and a draw to reallocate plots was conducted in May.

Beneficiaries were invited to book appointments via the Hiyaavehi Portal on 1 July 2025 to collect their new documents.

The Minister’s response addressed public concern over changes to the agreement wording. The revised agreement states that individuals must not own land from any part of the country, whereas the previous version only restricted ownership of land within the Malé area specifically.

However, this amendment appears to contradict the government’s existing policy—introduced on 26 June 2022—for allocating public land in the Malé area under the Land Owner Scheme.

Under Section 3(c) of the Policy for Allotment of Bhandara Land in the Malé Area, applicants must not own more than 600 square feet of land or housing registered in their name within the Malé area (which includes Malé, Hulhumalé, and Villingili). If an applicant does possess more than this limit, they must vacate the property. The policy does not restrict land ownership outside of the Malé area.

This discrepancy has sparked public debate about transparency and consistency in land allocation under the scheme.

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