Handing over flats to 20 percent of applicants found to be eligible from the ‘Gedhoruveriya’ scheme’s final list of recipients will begin next week, Housing Minister Dr. Ali Haidar has said.
The government was unable to begin the handover process because the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has not restored access to the Gedhoruveriya portal after its investigation, Haidar said at a meeting of Parliament’s National Development and Heritage Committee yesterday.
“We’re planning to be able to begin work [on handing over the flats] next week. ACC said earlier this week that access will be provided in two or three days. When we get it and we know definitely who the [flat] recipients are, we have planned to call and bring them for the handing over,” Haidar said.
Haidar said the list previously provided by the ACC only included phone numbers of the 20 percent of applicants who were deemed eligible. Their identities could only be known from the portal when access is granted, he said. Haidar said the ACC’s list will be shared with Parliament.
The process for handing over flats to eligible applicants would involve confirming the recipients through the portal, forming an independent committee and carrying out the process based on the committee’s advice, Haidar said.
According to the ACC, 59 percent of applicants chosen by the previous government as recipients of flats did not meet the eligible criteria. The commission also found problems in the application forms of 19.7 percent of recipients who met the criteria.
“As they have determined that 59 percent of people are definitely not eligible, that is something I’m very concerned about. 59 percent is a number much higher than the majority. When they determine that many as ineligible, we need to clarify why they were not eligible,” Haidar said.
The ACC instructed the ministry to find out why a large number of applicants did not meet the eligibility criteria, he said. But the ministry would only be able to check the application forms when access to the portal is restored, Haidar said.
