Maldives government has proposed a solution to the conflict-ridden land use plans of local islands with a partly approval approach.
Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mr. Mohamed Aslam confirmed land use plans will now proceed under a phase-based structure. This alleviates the previous approach of entire project approval by the ministry prior to commencement.
Minister Aslam made the confirmation at the ongoing ‘Viavathi Raajje’ conference in Laamu atoll. The conference brings together council presidents, WDC heads and other prolific stakeholders from Southern atolls to discuss over an array of topics.
The Maldivian Decentralization Act confers island council members to complete the land use and development plan under three months of appointment. However, the current Laamu atoll council had failed to produce a full-fledged plan with over a year into their appointment.
Previous approach demands land use plans to become effective once it receives public approval, which is preceded by the approval from Ministry of National Planning (MNPHI). Any changes made the plan post approval must follow the same procedure as well.
The ministry exercises strict approval standards, whereby even the most miniscule discrepancies result in the complete rejection of land use plans. This puts projects into development hell indefinitely, resulting in public frustration and other backlashes. Moreover, resolving issues pointed out by the ministry consumes considerable amount of time which further dampens the pace of the plan’s approval.
According to Minister Aslam, the ministry decided on approving components of any land use plan that were attended correctly while providing sufficient time for areas that required correction. The minister further stressed that part approval of the plan does not constitute for a complete execution of the project.
This issue was addressed by the minister when several attending councils at the conference highlighted the plight. This also remains a widely discoursed topic in several of the previous conferences as well.