Govt should recover Hulhumalé land to prevent state loss, Falaah says

Parliamentary Group Leader of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), Ibrahim Falaah, on Tuesday called on the government to take back land plots granted free of charge in the second phase of Hulhumalé under the previous administration’s Binveriya housing scheme.

Falaah made the remarks during parliamentary debate on a resolution concerning delays in the handover of 4,000 flats under the Gedhoruveriya housing scheme. The resolution was moved by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mauroof Zakir.

The previous government, led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, approved the release of 1,407 plots of land in Hulhumalé Phase 2 in October 2023. These were distributed under the Binveriya scheme without payment.

Falaah alleged that the allocations had resulted in financial loss to the state and were granted to politically connected individuals.

“The MDP government gave 1,200-square-foot plots from Hulhumalé Phase 2 free of charge in the name of providing land to Malé residents,” he said. “The plots were given to MDP members, ministers, state officials, and their families. In some cases, parents and children received plots from the same location.”

Citing findings from parliamentary committees, Falaah said the financial impact of the allocations was estimated at MVR 13 billion.

“As a citizen, I call on the government to reclaim these plots. If the state recovers the land, it can save about MVR 10 billion,” he said.

Falaah also discussed the Gedhoruveriya flat project, claiming that the previous MDP government had borrowed MVR 120 billion but failed to complete the 4,000-flat project, which remains 70 percent finished.

He said that allegations of irregularities in the flat distribution process during the previous administration had been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

“MDP MPs, ministers, corporate officials, and their families were involved in unequal distribution of flats, and the matter was already before the ACC,” he said.

Falaah contrasted this with the housing projects carried out during the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen, noting that 7,000 flats were completed under the then Housing Minister, now President Mohamed Muizzu.

“Under President Muizzu, 7,000 flats were built and ready for handover by the end of his government in 2018. However, when the Solih administration came to power, those flats were taken from the people who had already been allocated them,” he said.

Falaah added that President Muizzu had pledged to return the flats to their rightful recipients during his current term and denied that any PNC MPs or ministers’ families had received flats from the 4,000 units under construction.

“Even today, I say before the public: if anyone can prove that a relative of mine or a relative of a minister or MP has received a flat from these 4,000, I will resign from Parliament,” he said.

He further stated that if any irregularities had occurred in the flat allocation lists, they originated from the previous government’s processes.