Parliament's Committee on Decentralization has decided to propose an amendment to the Uninhabited Islands Act so that Atoll Councils should be consulted prior to leasing their islands for any reason.
This was decided in a meeting held on Monday to review the bill submitted to amend the Uninhabited Islands Act.
The Amendment was submitted by parliament member for Baarah constituency Ahmed Abdulla. The Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)'s member had submitted the bill because the amendments made to the Decentralization Act contradicts the Uninhabited Islands Act as it currently is. Thirteen articles in the Uninhabited Islands Act were to be amended.
The amendment to consult the Atoll Council while leasing out an island has been added at a time when the Vaavu Atoll Council and the government are in disagreement over Vaavu atoll Hulhidhoo, which has been leased for agriculture. Atoll Council had attempted to take back the island since no work has been done on the island over the five years it has been leased for agriculture since 2017.
Although the island is now declared as an island of the Vaavu Atoll Council by a resolution from the council, the government says that the council has no legal authority to take such a decision.
The new amendment states that "an uninhabited island shall be leased for development as an island for fishing, agricultural or industrial purposes by a ministry or agency implementing the mandate of running an industry in accordance with the rules made in the Uninhabited Islands Act. The ministry should consult the atoll council before leasing out such an island."
If the proposed amendments to the Uninhabited Islands Act are passed, the councils will be able to make full use of the uninhabited lands that are part of the rural jurisdiction without violating the Decentralization Act. Under the amendment, the island or city council will also be empowered to register, lease and profit from islands in their jurisdiction.
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