Signing has commenced today on an e-petition to be submitted to the Parliament, calling for the bill proposed to amend the Decentralization Act, which allows the government to take lands within the jurisdiction of local councils for the purpose of carrying out development projects, to be passed as it is without bringing any changes.
MP Hannan, who proposed the bill, stated that the main purpose of the bill is to ensure the cooperation of councils within a legal framework to speed up government development projects.
However, members of opposition MDP and councils of some islands are expressing discontent against this amendment and passing resolutions.
Nevertheless, more than 500 people have signed the petition calling for the passage of the bill so far.
The petition stated that the bill is an amendment that legally paves the way to swiftly provide basic services that need to be delivered to citizens at the island level, and therefore its passage is important.
"...the claims made by some parties stating that this amendment strips away the power of councils are baseless, nonexistent narratives spread for political motives based on invalid assumptions contrary to reality. Allocating land for essential services such as healthcare services guaranteed under the fundamental rights of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives, and police posts required to establish law and order, is something that must be done in the national interest through cooperation between the central government and councils," stated the petition formulated and launched for signatures by Ahmed Shathir of Binaa, Addu Meedhoo.
While signing has commenced on a petition calling to pass the bill, more than 2,000 people have now signed a petition launched calling not to pass the bill.
With that, that petition has become a special petition that mandatorily requires debate on Parliament floor. It is the first petition to receive that number of signatures.
As it has become a special petition, it must be brought to the attention of the government, and the issue of this petition must be placed on the agenda and debated in one of the upcoming three sittings.
This petition calls for the withdrawal of the amendment being proposed to the law to allow lands and lagoons within the jurisdiction of councils to be taken for government development projects through a decision of the Cabinet, which was submitted by independent MP for Thulhaadhoo, Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru.
According to the E-Petition Regulation of the Parliament, when a petition reaches 2,100 signatures (0.5 percent of the voting population), it becomes mandatory to send that petition to the relevant committee of the Parliament for review.
The petition submitted by Midhuam Saud stated that, due to this amendment, the power of councilors directly elected by the vote of the citizens would be stripped away and those powers would be granted to the Cabinet.
Furthermore, as this bill opens the opportunity to take action against councilors claiming they are not extending cooperation to government decisions, it was highlighted as something completely contrary to the spirit of the decentralized system.
