Announcement linked to Gulhifalhu agreements re-gazetted with revised wording

The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure has re-gazetted an announcement with revised wording after deleting a previous announcement gazetted on Wednesday, which stated that no changes would be made to the agreements of those who received land under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme implemented by the previous administration of the now-opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The announcement was revised and re-gazetted after sundown on Wednesday.

An announcement released by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure on Wednesday evening stated that in order to expedite the handover of plots allocated to recipients of Gulhifalhu land through a draw held on 30 May 2025, the ministry had decided to sign a new revised agreement between the ministry and the land recipients to amend the clause related to plot information in the current agreement, to include the new plot registry number, plot number, and location.

However, the announcement has now been deleted from the gazette. The ministry's post on ‘X’ has been deleted as well.

In a new announcement released by the ministry at 9:21pm on Wednesday night, it stated that under Regulation No. 2022/G-19 (Regulation on Allocating Bandaara Plots from the Greater Malé Region (GMR) under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme), the previous government had announced and allocated plots from Hulhumalé, Gulhifalhu, and Giraavaru lagoon, signed agreements for plot handover with recipients, and handed over plot registries.

Due to multiple reasons and changes to the Gulhifalhu Land Use Plan (LUP), the plot areas for Gulhifalhu recipients have changed. A new draw was held among these recipients to determine their new plots. When reviewing the current agreement to sign a new state plot allocation agreement with these parties, the ministry found that the agreement contains elements that conflict with Law No. 2002/1 (Maldives Land Act).

The ministry has highlighted that Article 11(a) of the Maldives Land Act specifies that Bandaara plots for residential purposes can only be given to Maldivian citizens who do not already have a Bandaara plot, private plot, a portion of a divided Bandaara or private plot, or a flat in a government-built building or condominium.

The article also states that residential Bandaara plots can be given to individuals who have a portion of a divided Bandaara or private plot, or a flat in a government-built building or condominium, only if they relinquish or agree to relinquish that portion or flat.

However, the ministry's announcement notes that the Regulation on Allocating Bandaara Plots from GMR under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme and the plot allocation agreement only require recipients to relinquish plots smaller than 600 square feet in the Greater Malé Region comprising of Malé, Hulhumalé, and Villingili.

Given that many plots allocated in Hulhumalé under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme have already been handed over and construction has begun, the ministry does not believe that amending only the agreement for Gulhifalhu plot recipients will resolve the entire issue.

Therefore, to expedite the handover of plots allocated to Gulhifalhu recipients through the 30 May 2025 draw, the ministry has decided to sign an amendment agreement with the plot recipients to revise the clause related to plot information in the current agreement, updating the new plot registry number, plot number, and location.

In addition to this, the ministry will be working with the Attorney General's Office to find a comprehensive solution to resolve the conflicts between the plot allocation agreement and the Maldives Land Act.

The second paragraph of the announcement made on Wednesday evening stated that the ministry had decided to sign a new revised agreement with plot recipients. However, in the announcement released later after sundown on Wednesday after deleting the previous one, it noted that the ministry has decided to sign an amendment agreement with plot recipients.