MDP calls for Minister Haidar's resignation due to land issue

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has said that the issuance of a land registry to Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, brother of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) MD Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, despite him not being on the Binveriya land recipients list occurred with the negligence of the Housing Ministry as well.

They stated that Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Infrastructure Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed must take responsibility for the matter.

In a press conference held by the party, former State Minister at the Housing Ministry Akram Kamaluddeen said that it is the housing ministry which will have all the information regarding the land plots, including the unallocated land plots. As such, the ministry has to bear the responsibility for this information being revealed to other persons, he said.

"Hence the Minister must resign, or he must be suspended," Akram stated.

Former Senior Executive Director at the Housing Ministry, Mohamed Arif, said in the press conference that the previous government had conducted the Binveriya housing scheme in a well-planned manner wwith the collaboration of various institutions, with checks and balances in place to ensure no wrongful steps would be taken.

"The Housing Ministry, once the recipients are confirmed, will hand over the land plots and then send a list to HDC. Only after this did HDC issue permits for building boundary walls," he explained.

"Previously, HDC did not issue permits before we sent them the list. Whether the applicants sends in a registry, fake or real, HDC will not issue permit before we send them the list. They will instead inform the applicant that they have not yet been notified by the Housing Ministry that land has been allocated to them."

Arif said that HDC had recently started acting against these previous policies in issuing permits before the ministry had sent them the list. He said that the Ministry would have a list of land plots on hold, which the ministry alone would have access to.

He claims that if information regarding such land plots had been revealed, it could only have been done through the Housing Ministry.

The Anti Corruption Commission, as well as the Police, are currently conducting investigations into the matter.

Subsequently, the Privatization and Corporatization Board has dismissed the entire board of HDC save for the recently appointed Chairperson.

Fazeel, too, has been suspended from his position as Deputy Managing Director at MWSC. Police are currently conducting an investigation against him where he is being charged with forgery.

Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef has also ordered Police and the Anti Corruption Commission to conduct a swift criminal investigation into the undue granting of housing via the Binveriya and Gedhoruveriya housing schemes.