Parliament of the Maldives has passed the amendment bill to the Water and Sewerage Act, allocating large fines for breaches of dewatering regulations.
The bill was submitted by Parliamentarian Yasir Abdul Latheef to resolve some of the administrative difficulties faced by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology and the Utilities Regulatory Authority (URA) in implementing the Water and Sewerage Act. The bill was passed with changes brought during committee review.
As per the passed bill, individuals and companies that carry out dewatering of the ground in violation of the dewatering regulations can be fined any amount between USD320 to USD65,000, based on the severity of the offence. Other stipulations introduced by the bill include mandating the authorities to ensure newly established RO plants have the capacity to generate power from renewable energy. The bill also stipulates the establishment of a testing and certification standard for equipment used to establish water and sewerage systems.
The bill was passed by the parliament with votes from 47 parliamentarians.