Former President Mohamed Nasheed stated today that the bill submitted to the Parliament allowing the government to acquire lands under the jurisdiction of island councils to execute government projects is drafted in a way that paves the way for the wrongful seizure of people's homes and land.
Providing information to journalists during an activity held by MDP outside Parliament today to speak out against the bill, Nasheed stated that under the current draft of the bill, the cabinet can acquire anyone's land, adding that it is an amendment that allows for the wrongful seizure of people's homes and land.
According to Nasheed, the provisions included in the bill are unconstitutional.
"The Constitution and this bill conflict very, very heavily. There is a huge contradiction. And if you look deeply, there are a lot of other flawed things in that bill as well. I believe it is a mistake that has been made," Nasheed said.
Nasheed said that although the bill grants the cabinet power to acquire land in any island of the Maldives and belonging to any citizen, this is not an era where Maldivians will remain silent without speaking up about such things.
Expressing concern over the provisions in the bill, Nasheed stated that there should not even be an opportunity given to debate the bill in Parliament, and called for the bill to be withdrawn.
"This is not something allowed by the Constitution of the Maldives. Therefore, I believe there isn't even an opportunity to debate this bill in the Parliament. It would be very good to rectify the bill first before bringing it,"
Citing an example, Nasheed said that currently, councils transfer the registration of island schools to the Education Ministry's name, but under the bill, questions arise over who will register those lands in the future.
"Now it is entering into a major confusion. The way I see it, this is a bill submitted without any thought whatsoever. The wise path is to withdraw it. Under no circumstances should the President ratify this," Nasheed said, describing the bill as one submitted to strip the ownership of islands from citizens.
The bill proposing amendments to the Decentralization Act to allow lands currently managed by councils to be detached from island jurisdictions and acquired by the government was submitted by independent MP for Thulhaadhoo constituency Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru.
Parliament accepted the bill with the votes of 55 members who participated in the voting.
According to the bill, the Cabinet of Ministers can decide to remove lands and sites within council jurisdictions to run government development projects. The bill states that after such a decision is made by the Cabinet of Ministers, once the relevant national authority informs the council, that land or place will be separated from council ownership and become land and places under full state authority.
The bill states that even before the physical development plan of an island or city is approved and brought into force, in cases where the government requests to acquire land to carry out a development project, the council must hand over the land required for those projects to the national authority.
