The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has requested the attorney general to appeal the Civil Court’s order to stop the nullification of over 80 illegal vehicle registries.
The Civil Court had ordered the ministry to stop the nullification of 87 vehicle registries after the owners made the request. The court stated the ministry’s action would have major financial repercussions on the owners and issued the order to stop the ministry from nullifying the registries until the case is resolved.
Speaking to PSM News, Deputy Minister Hamad Abdul Ghanee said the transport ministry has found that the vehicle registries were forged documents, and therefore the vehicles cannot be designated as registered. He said the ministry is working with the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to investigate the issue and find those who are making the forged documents. He added that the ministry holds a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and that such actions should be stopped.
The transport ministry has nullified around 200 illegal vehicle registries in Male' City. The ministry stated some of the vehicles had been registered after they had reached the maximum allowed period of registration while others were illegally registered in the Male’ Zone.
Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Greater Male’ Region. Over 80,000 vehicles have been registered in Male', of which 4,500 are cars. Residents have expressed concern over the traffic congestion and the large number of vehicles parked on the streets. Previously, many vehicles were registered under the same garages but the transport ministry made changes to the regulations which capped the number of vehicles that can be parked in one garage.