Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has approved the land use plans of 42 islands.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Committee for National Development and Heritage, Director General Fatimath Shaana Farooq said 42 land use plans have been approved out of the 77 land use plans submitted so far. The planning ministry has provided assistance to 11 islands to amend their land use plans. The assistance was provided to islands with very small populations and budget constraints that have made it difficult to outsource land use plans.
Furthermore, the planning ministry has made it possible for councils to collect information through drones to reduce the time it takes to collect information for the preparation of land use plans and accelerate the pace of work for the approval of more plans.
Land use plans are crucial for the development of islands. The delay in the submission of land use plans has hindered the development of the islands. The prepared land use plan must be submitted to the planning ministry for approval as per the Decentralisation Act. The land use plan has to be formed after a meeting with the public and the local councils are also required to hold meetings with the public to make amendments to the land use plan.
Under the Decentralisation Act, the local councils are mandated to prepare land use plans. The act states that within three months after the elected members assume office, the island council shall prepare the development plan and land use plan of each island with technical assistance provided by the Atoll Council. However, several councils have not submitted land use plans although a year has passed since the new councillors were sworn in.