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Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam speaking at a parliament sitting. Photo/Majlis

Government relaxes eligibility criteria for Male natives' land scheme

While changes have been brought to the interpretation of Male natives, applications for the land scheme will close on 26 September.

16 September 2022

By Shafna Hussain

Government on Thursday relaxed the criteria for validating natives of Male for a scheme that exclusively allocates land for natives of the capital city.

The government has launched two schemes -- one to grant land to the natives of Male and another to lease flats from the capital to region for long-term residents -- in a bid to resolve the housing issues faced in the capital.

According to the initial criteria, land will be given from Male area to those who can prove they have never been registered in another island in the Maldives except for Male.

The housing ministry on Thursday published the revised criteria, which states: 

  • if a person has been registered elsewhere due to a policy or regulation made by the government, but whose parents have been Male natives and has since changed their registered address back to Male, then the person will be eligible to apply for the scheme.

While changes have been brought to the interpretation of Male natives, applications for the land scheme will close on 26 September.

Land will be granted free from Hulhumale and Gulhifalhu under the scheme. The total land area allocated for this scheme is 3,750,000 square feet.

  • The minimum size of land available for an application is 1,250 square feet  

  • For joint applications, 400 square feet of land will be increased per each co-applicant. 

  • If more than seven people participate in the joint application, the total size of the plot will be capped at 4,000 square feet.

The scheme has been the subject of intense criticism, with several saying that it is discriminatory and promotes age-old notions of Male superiority. 

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