Housing Minister to Review Previous Gov’t’s Flat Allocation

Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed, has announced a comprehensive review of complaints regarding the allocation of flats under ‘Gedhoruveriya’ scheme by the previous government, with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) entrusted with the investigation.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Minister Haider stated that the review aims to assess whether social housing units distributed between the first and second rounds of the Presidential Election were allocated to those most in need. 

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He highlighted the Solih administration’s alleged failure to comply with the explicit requests of the then-President Elect’s Office to halt the allocation of housing units after the election of Dr. Mohamed Muiz as the President of the Maldives.

Minister Haider expressed his reliance on the ACC’s recommendations regarding the flat allocation issue during his inaugural press conference.

The housing scheme introduced by the previous government initially listed 13,000 eligible applicants on a permanent basis. However, by the end of the regime, only 4,000 of them had been granted flats. Dissatisfaction with the process led to over 7,000 complaints, but a conclusion was reached that there were no significant irregularities warranting a change in the list.

The outgoing administration of President Solih had rejected requests from the Anti-Corruption Commission to suspend the publication of a list naming individuals awarded 4,000 social housing units, later announcing a cessation of the work.

Dr. Haider pointed out that the previous government had also granted land registry to individuals without the land even having been reclaimed to date, asserting that this action was against the law. He emphasised the need for a closer investigation into this matter.