Gulhifalhu Citizen's Association advises against signing new agreement

Gulhifalhu Citizens' Association has urged Binveriya land recipients to not sign the new agreement being offered by the government after voiding the agreement entered into with the previous administration led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

With changes brought to the Gulhi Falhu land use plan, the ministry announced on July 1 for land recipients to apply to receive the new registrations for land plots which are being issued after cancelling the previous registrations.

The government changed the land use plan and decided to transfer land previously issued from Giraavaru Falhu to Gulhi Falhu. Hence, the previous registries were cancelled, and a draw was taken to determine the new plots.

In a press conference held this afternoon, the Gulhifalhu Citizens' Association appealed to recipients to not sign the new agreement. They stated they are working to restore the new agreement to its previous version as soon as possible.

Speaking on behalf of the association, lawyer Mohamed Nishan Ibrahim said that he does not believe that the agreement can be changed after the administration changed in 2023, when agreements had previously been confirmed with them.

According to Nishan, the previous agreement stated that if the recipient owns a land under the size of 600ft from the Male' region, they must agree to relinquish it. However, the now amended agreement states that if a land of that size is owned anywhere in the Maldives, then it must be relinquished.

With this change, some who previously received registers may no longer be eligible for land, he said, adding the ministry will also have the option of changing the land granted to a location of their choosing.

He also responded to Construction Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib's statement that this was being done in compliance with laws, and said that he does not accept the reasoning.

Nishan said that as per the Constitution, a person's property cannot be claimed by the State without their explicit consent, and it is only the courts that can do so, even then on the condition that they are provided compensation.

He maintains that once the agreement has been made and the registry handed over, the government no longer has a say over the property.