You cannot distinguish between houses and roads. The roads are tiny, narrow, forcing the walker to shift to a side. The island is packed, tiny roads sandwiched between small homes. The said small homes are becoming even smaller, portioned off between inheritors. Whole families live in one room. This is not Male’, but an island of Maldives.

The 5000 odd citizens of Lh. Hinnvarau is not pressed for space because the island is small. The island is relatively large compared to the number of people. The island has been reclaimed on two occasions; the 52-acre area remains vacant, unused. All other areas are jampacked.

Even though 5000 are listed on the registry, only 2000 reside on a permanent basis. Many had migrated to Male’, a move pressured by progressively shrinking homes.

Hinnavaru Council’s Vice President Ibrahim Qasim said during the tenure of former President Mohamed Nasheed, 28 hectares of land was reclaimed and land plot registration had begun. He said in the first round, the Council had opened applications for 250 homes from the newly reclaimed area.

Qasim said the process had stalled over the reforms to the Land Act. He said the applications have been modified to fit the amended Land Act and sent for review to the Attorney General.

Citizens of the island claim that congestion had created many social and health problems.

The first reclamation project took off seven years ago, back in 2010. The 250 homes mentioned previously went up for grabs a year later. The process ground to a complete standstill under Dr. Mohamed Waheed’s presidency. All hopes were dashed in 2015, when Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ordered an indefinite halt to the project.

ACC review said there were serious concerns regarding the procedures. ACC said the Council did not release how a point system for applicants was arrived at. Also, the Commission noted that the size and number of land plots were not made public.

ACC had called on the Council to conduct the process of leasing the land plots in a more open and fair manner, with public announcements disseminating all required information to the public. ACC had also called on the Council to follow the Land Act throughout the whole process.

Regarding Hinnavaru, Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizz said the Government had allotted 100 housing units in this year’s budget to alleviate the housing crisis. He had not offered additional information regarding the proposed housing units.

When the Council opened up for applicants back in 2011, 2200 applications were sent in. Land plots were last issued in 2002.

Even though a significant amount of time had elapsed since the first reclamation, administrative snafus have allowed a grassy field to grow over the area. In the meantime, the livelihood, the daily lives of the few citizens remaining in the island continue to be squashed, their dreams hampered. Until the laws are changed and citizens allowed to claim new homes, the situation will remain as it is, growing worse month by month.