ACC to probe early allocation of flats to 315 applicants who scored 75 points

The Housing Ministry on Wednesday filed a formal request with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) asking for a criminal investigation into the decision to allocate ‘Gedhoruveriya’ flats to 315 applicants who scored 75 points, before allocating units first to those who scored 76 points and above.

The Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC) has developed 4,000 flats in Hulhumale’ Phase II - the first of housing units built under the ‘Gedhoruveriya’ scheme, a social housing project launched by the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration.

The FDC initiated the process of the signing of agreements with the recipients of the flats on July 21, before suspending the process earlier this week after it uncovered discrepancies in one of the lists of recipients sent by the Housing Ministry.

As per the original policy publicized by the former administration, three-bedroom flats were supposed to be allocated first to eligible applicants who scored 76 points and above, and then a draw held to allocate the remaining units among applicants who scored 75 points.

But in a letter addressed to ACC president Adam Shamil on Wednesday, the Housing Ministry said that it has uncovered that draws were held to allocate flats to 315 applicants who scored 75 points, before allocating flats to 301 applicants who had scored 76 points and above.

The Housing Ministry said it believes it was a deliberate decision to benefit a specific group of individuals and cause harm to specific individuals, and a move that damages the interests of all applicants.

The Housing Ministry asked the corruption watchdog for an investigation into the case.

Earlier this week, former state minister for housing Akram Kamaluddin, who had headed MDP administration’s housing initiatives, said that the applicants who scored 76 points but weren’t allocated flats are married couples, who were eligible for flats in their own right.

He said that according to the original policy, married couples were supposed to be allocated one flat that both spouses must share.

He said that the former administration had reserved a flat for each such married couple, and accused the incumbent administration of misleading the public.

The list of recipients of the flats, which was released during the last days of the MDP administration, was also the subject of an investigation by the ACC. The corruption watchdog ordered for the suspension of the issuance of flats, before finally giving the Housing Ministry the go-ahead to proceed in February 2024.

The incumbent administration released a new list of recipients after a verification process that lasted a year in February. But following public backlash over high number of disqualifications, decided that the flats would be issued based on the original list.