The Parliament’s Decentralisation Committee has approved an amendment to the Decentralisation of Administrative Areas Act.
Member of Parliament Abdul Hannan, backed by the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), submitted a bill proposing that the government can take over land under council jurisdiction for development purposes.
A further amendment was proposed by Member of Parliament Ahmed Aifan, which would require the government to compensate for investments already made on the land when land is taken from a local council’s jurisdiction for government development projects. The relevant ministry would be responsible for paying the compensation.
The amendment was approved by the committee along with other changes. Another proposed change would give the Cabinet power to exclude land or property from a council’s jurisdiction for government development projects. Councils would also be required to cooperate with government development projects undertaken for the collective benefit of their communities, while also being prohibited from unreasonably obstructing or making decisions that would halt such projects.