The Ministry of Housing and Community Development has extended the closing date for submissions on the proposed Lot Allocation Policy in Informal Settlements to December 15, 2020.
Ministry permanent secretary Sanjeeva Perera said the closing date for submissions had been extended considering the high level of interest shown by members of the public.
He said so far, a total of 1988 people had attended the public consultation sessions organised around the country.
“Overall, the turnout has been truly encouraging with the Central Division recording 425 people, the Northern Division recorded 62, while the West recorded 1501; we also received written submissions from communities after careful review of the policy and this is very encouraging,” Mr Perera said via a Government statement issued today.
He said the highest number of clarifications were on the lot allocation criteria, use of market value, and how to pay for the allocated lots.
“Given that the Policy proposes to use the market value as the basis for calculating the relevant Lot Allotment Price, many interested individuals requested clarification on how and when the valuation will be done, by whom, who will pay for it and also if it is only the land or whether the structures already built on land be valued as well; we are glad that the proposed policy covers all these areas very clearly and our clarifications were well received by the public,” Mr Perera said.
“We are encouraging all Fijians to participate and not only those who live in an informal settlement. This is your time to critically analyse the policy.”
