Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture has temporarily halted the leasing of uninhabited islands.
The fisheries ministry is tasked with approving applications to lease uninhabited islands. The ministry made the decision to temporarily stop processing applications in order to implement amendments to the regulations on leasing islands.
In November 2022, the Parliament passed the amendment bill to the Regulation on Uninhabited Islands of the Maldives with 53 votes in favour. The amendment bill aims to improve on the current regulations that conflict with the amendments to the Decentralisation Act. The bill proposes to amend 13 articles and allow the local councils to lease and receive revenue from the uninhabited islands under their jurisdiction. The bill also includes an amendment to Article 11, requiring authorities to hold discussions with the atoll council prior to leasing an uninhabited island in its jurisdiction.
The Maldives consists of 774 uninhabited islands. Most of the uninhabited islands are leased for resort development and other tourism businesses while some islands are leased for agriculture and industrial activities.