Interim flat list to be issued next week, handover scheduled before year-end
He however, did not disclose any details of the evaluation process
Several members of the public including parliamentarians took to the streets to protest the delay in handing over flats and plots of land
The government is to issue the interim flat list within next week.
Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development Dr. Ali Haidar Ahmed revealed that the interim list of recipients for the 4,000 flats promised by the previous administration will be released within next week, while speaking on Public Service Media (PSM)’s “Raajje Miadhu” programme.
The minister said that the list will be published next week and a window will be open for complaints.
Noting that the work of re-evaluating the application forms submitted for flats is ongoing, the minister stated that once all the forms submitted for flats are evaluated the interim list of 4,000 flat recipients will be announced within the next week.
He however, did not disclose any details of the evaluation process.
Further, he said that after the complaints window is opened and the stage is completed, flats will be handed over before the end of this year.
Earlier, the ministry stated that they were re-evaluating all forms submitted for the ‘Gedhoruveriyaa’ scheme and compiling a new flat list, after determining that the flat list made by the current administration was also incorrect.
In a press release, the Housing Ministry stated that the final list of flat recipients, compiled by the 'Housing Advisory Committee' which was established on the president's advice, and the 'Housing Consultative Committee' formed by the Malé City Council, was also deemed unsatisfactory.
The press release highlighted that due to the failure of the work of the committees formed for the specific purpose, the evaluation of the list is now being carried out directly by the housing ministry.
As such, it read that as the final list of the ‘Gedhoruveriyaa’ scheme compiled by the 'Housing Advisory Committee' formed on the advice of the president and the 'Housing Consultative Committee' formed by the city council is not deemed satisfactory, the ministry had begun the work of re-evaluating all application forms submitted under the scheme.
The ministry has stated that the announcement of the interim list of flat recipients has been postponed until the second week of November to ensure the "full completion" of the process.
The housing ministry’s statement reads that the ministry will continue to work on publishing the interim list by the end of the second week of November this year.
When the government decided to delay the release of the flat recipient list, Minister Haidar had previously stated on Saturday that the list would be published by the end of October.
Under the Gedhoruverin housing scheme introduced by the former administration, 4,000 flat recipients were gazetted, and agreements were made with 3,778 of them.
While some people on the flat list have noted that the issue of flat allocation is still unclear, they have repeatedly expressed concern and held continuous protests as the government's rhetoric on the matter keeps changing.
Throngs of people have been taking to the streets over the past couple of months regarding the matter, voicing concerns over the delay in publicizing the flat recipients list.
Maldivian citizens dreamed big when casting their votes to elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu as their next president during last year's presidential elections. During the election campaign, he promised to do everything beneficial for the people's lives and progress. Especially regarding housing. He painted a picture for the citizens, giving full assurance that he would provide shelter for all.
However, some opposition political leaders at the time warned the public that if Muizzu came to power, he would withhold the plots of land and flats allocated during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government.
Muizzu brushed off these claims and assured the people that nothing would be taken away from them.
Muizzu promised to hand over flats and plots of land to their rightful recipients, without any changes as publicized in the government gazette, during the presidential elections campaign, having said that his government would allocate flats according to the list determined by the government. Even after coming to power, the president said that he will not take away housing given to a citizen.
Despite this, to date, flat and land recipients have been pleading for the release of their rightful plots of land and flats since the government took the reins.
The Gedhoruverin scheme was launched by the former administration to address the housing crisis facing the residents of the Greater Malé Region.
The former administration determined that 15,046 people were eligible under the scheme.
The now-opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s then administration decided to allocate flats to all eligible applicants.
Under the scheme, the work on 700 housing units built in Hulhumalé was completed and handed over to the government by the Indian government on October 7.
The final list of flat recipients under the scheme carried out by the MDP administration was announced on 15 November 2023.
