The Presidential Committee Investigating Public Housing Schemes, on Wednesday, guaranteed that the points allocated for living conditions under the Hiyaa Public Housing Scheme were granted fairly and following a physical evaluation.
Speaking at a press conference, committee member Thoha Ahmed highlighted that the majority of complaints submitted over the list of recipients issued in 2018 by the previous government were regarding issues in the allotment of points for living conditions.
Asserting that point allocation on the basis of only application forms was not the best practice, Thoha revealed that a uniform and impartial system was created under which committee officials ascertained the accuracy of information provided by applicants by conducting physical evaluations.
In this regard, he noted that applicants that described their current living conditions similarly may have received significantly different marks after the inspection.
Thoha added that applicants and two officials from the committee signed a document guaranteeing the validity of information following the completion of each assessment of living conditions.
At present, the Presidential Committee remains open for complaints regarding the recently published provisional list of recipients for category H7 under the Hiyaa Public Housing Scheme, which is allocated for married people between the ages of 18 to 40.
Following the publication of the H7 list, local organisation 'Aamunge Ekuveri Gulhun' stated that 655 individuals that secured flats during the previous administration were unfairly excluded from the list.
Particularly expressing concern regarding how the 30 percent of points were allocated for living conditions, 'Aamunge Ekuveri Gulhun' called on the government to clarify the criteria under which 655 applicants previously guaranteed flats were excluded, as well as the guideline used to judge the eligibility of the individuals that secured state housing in their place.
Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam has asserted that the listing had changed following the process of reevaluating and ensuring the validity of information initially provided by applicants. He went on to add that the details of the review process were included in the provisional list issued by the presidential committee.
Initiated during the government of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the Hiyaa Project comprises the development of 7,000 flats, in the form of 16 towers of 25-storeys each, in reclaimed suburb Hulhumale's second phase.
Although the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) administration had issued a list of recipients, allegations of corruption and unjust distribution prompted the current government to form a committee to probe the issue and release a revised list.
Over 25,000 people were reported to have initially applied to purchase flats from the Hiyaa project.
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