Ex-flat committee chief says "punish culprits, not public"
Another committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
By
Ahmed Mizyal
The former Minister of State for Housing Akram Kamaluddin, who spearheaded the Gedhoruveriya scheme of the previous government to provide flats to people living in the Male area, has urged the government to take action against those who are responsible for any mistakes instead of taking action against the people.
The 4,000 flats announced under the Gedhoruveriya Scheme were stopped by the ACC in late November last year as it investigated complaints that the registry was being handed over by "illegally announcing a list of beneficiaries" at the end of the previous government.
According to the ACC, among the forms examined in the investigation:
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Qualified, no-problem applications: 20.7%
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Despite eligibility, problematic forms: 19.7%
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Ineligible forms: 59.6%
The parliamentary Independent Institutions Committee and the National Development and Heritage Committee held a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue further.
During the meeting, Akram, who was also the chairman of the committee taken up to assess the previous flat and land applications, shared some concerns about the ACC allegations and the current handling of the flat awarding process.
Akram said he had "come here [to the committee] several times" and had explained very clearly how the flats were given.
"Those who were found to be eligible [all those on the permanent list] should be looked into by the ACC. It's not just 4,000 that needs to be seen when you categorize it like this, or when you look at the whole thing," said Akram.
Another concern that Akram pointed out was that it kept getting prolonged due to these investigations.
"This is directly related to the people. The people's rights. [This] has been decided and an agreement has been made. So I think it is their right. So the government has to decide and parliament has to ensure that they get their rights," Akram said.
"If this has been done wrong, then take action against those who did wrong. Don't penalize them [people]."
The Independent Institutions Committee has been informed of the reasons why some people are not eligible in the ACC investigation. The reasons given by the ACC were read by the committee chairperson, Meedhoo Constituency Member Rozaina Adam at Monday's committee meeting.
The reasons are:
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No documents have been submitted to prove that the applicant has lived in Male for 15 years
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1-
The information in the council letter submitted to prove residence in the city and the information in various state databases linked to the portal did not meet
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1-
The information contained in the documents issued by households and companies to prove their residence periods in Male and the information in various state databases linked to the Gedhoruverin portal do not coincide
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1-
No documents have been submitted to prove 15 years of continuous residence in Male. No documents have been submitted for the missing years
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1-
The main applicant or co-applicant having previously received social housing
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1-
Only a council document was submitted to prove residence in Male
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1-
Only household documents submitted to prove residence in Male
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1-
Worked in a resort but claimed to have lived in Male for 15 years without interruption
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1-
Those who went abroad for education were away during the period of their claimed residence in the capital.
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1-
Submit a document stating employment in a company before it exists
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1-
Total monthly income exceeds MVR 60,000
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1-
Eligible, but having problems with the form
Another committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. The committee decided to hold the meeting without media present as it will discuss the confidential information contained in the documents shared by the ACC.
