New bills relating to the Decentralisation Act and infrastructure development have been ratified today by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has today, ratified the Infrastructure Plan Bill and new amendments to the Decentralisation Act passed by the parliament.
The Infrastructure Plan Bill was approved by the Parliament on August 22, with no votes from opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members.
According to the bill, policies related to planning and running infrastructure will be determined by the President, as advised by the Cabinet. It also mandates the Planning Minister to be primarily responsible for implementing the Act.
The government said that the purpose of the Infrastructure Planning Bill is to:
- Facilitate infrastructure planning so that land can be developed and maintained in an economically, socially and environmentally viable manner.
- Determine infrastructure planning principles that will facilitate sustainable and efficient land use
- Establish regulations related to the planning and operation of infrastructure to facilitate the decentralisation of administrative areas
- Facilitate increased public participation in infrastructure planning and development processes. The Decentralisation Act's amendment bill includes regulations pertaining to the formulation of land use plans.
Opposition party MDP has heavily criticised this bill, claiming that it would allow the government to violate decentralisation policies and make land development plans without the participation of island residents.
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