HC dismisses plea on land scheme citing no constitutional issue

High Court on Sunday ruled that a petition seeking quashing of the government's land ownership policy ‘Binnverya’ scheme for allotment of land to Male residents cannot be heard by the High Court as it is not a constitutional issue.

Under the government's housing policy, the housing ministry has issued a policy for the allotment of free land from Hulhumale.

The case was filed in the court by a plaintiff not satisfied with the criteria for being a resident of Male. According to the plea filed by two advocates, the land allotment policy was violative of the Constitution, the Land Acquisition Act and the regulations for allotment of large land lots for residential purposes.

The Attorney General, appearing for the state, told the court that it was not a constitutional matter of the nature considered by the High Court as a first point. All the five judges who heard the case in the court agreed on the issue.

Referring to the reasons why the housing ministry's land allotment policy does not fit into a constitutional issue, Justice Mohamed Niyaz, who presided over the case, said:

Though not a constitutional matter, the matter relating to regulations falls within an order passed by a state agency or an act or decision taken by an employee from any of them, the judge said.

The housing ministry has given a slight relaxation to the standard of realising citizenship in Male following criticism from the public. However, the relaxation was given to those who were residents of Male after registering in another island and were in Male with the registration of their mother or father.

According to the government, 15,164 people applied for 1,000 plots allotted under the landlord scheme. The exact date of announcement of the beneficiaries, which start from 1,250 sqft in size to up to 4,000 sqft, is yet to be announced.