Ahmed Nareesh, who was then the Deputy Mayor, has stated that during President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's tenure as mayor, lands in Malé and Villimalé were allocated for commercial purposes in a transparent manner and in accordance with established regulations.

Following a statement by Mohamed Saif Fathih, a member of the Malé City Council for the Galolhu North constituency, alleging that lands in Malé and Villimalé were allocated for commercial purposes during President Muizzu's mayorship without council approval and in violation of regulations, Nareesh told "One" that no land was ever allocated outside of established procedures during Dr. Muizzu's mayoral term.

Saif had also accused that lands were allocated to local and foreign parties in violation of procedures.

"All land allocations were approved by the council. Nothing was done outside of the regulations. The allocations were made after being brought to the council floor and adhering to principles, evaluation committee standards, and guidelines," Nareesh said in response to Saif.

Nareesh also responded to Saif's claim that lands were leased at unfairly low prices.

In this regard, Nareesh stated that the lands were allocated with a "buyout" option, and therefore different rents were charged for different locations. He also added that some locations commanded high rents.