New govt to review flat recipients list

The list of beneficiaries of social housing flats under the previous government's Gedhoruveriya scheme will be reviewed, housing minister Dr Ali Haider said on Monday.

The new government's housing minister held his first press conference and said that no land or flats allocated to the people by the previous government will be confiscated and the agreements will be respected. However, the new government has now decided not to respect the agreements.

One reason, the minister said, was the complaints filed with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) regarding the flat lists.

Haider said the last government handed over the flats after the ACC ordered it to stop.

He said if the order was issued in violation, it had been done in disobedience to an order issued by an independent body.

"Our government is waiting for the ACC to give an advice on the matter. We will look into the matter and we have decided to review it," he said.

Haider said the flats given after the first round of the presidential election will be reviewed.

“We will review the flats allocated between the first and second rounds of the presidential election to see if they were given to the right people,” Haider said.

The minister said President Dr Mohamed Muizzu had urged then President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to postpone the allocation of any land or flats after winning the presidential election in September.

"Therefore, this government does not want to respect any land or flats allotted at that point for housing purposes," he said.

President Muizzu said after his election victory that anyone who applied for flats and plots within the government of former President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih’s housing scheme would not have their applications revoked and would not have to reapply.

"I want to assure you that no citizen will be humiliated in our government... Therefore, we will not cancel anything that has given any hope to the citizens because of any housing project that has gone anywhere. " Muizzu had said then.