Thinadhoo City Council unveils infant-registration payouts

GDh. Thinadhoo City Council has launched a program to provide financial assistance to newly registered infants.

The council has now made the regulations for awarding the assistance public.

According to the Regulation for Determining a Prize for Every Newborn Child Registered in the City of Thinadhoo, the decision was taken to increase the population of Thinadhoo and contribute to the population growth of the country as a whole. The policy also aims to encourage young families to increase their birth rates.

Under the regulation, the assistance will be provided under two categories. Category A includes children born to residents of Thinadhoo, who will receive MVR 1,500. Category B includes children born to parents from other islands, with MVR 2,000 allocated for this category.

The regulation states that either the child’s mother or father must be registered in Thinadhoo. If the parents are not part of the city, the child must still be registered in Thinadhoo to qualify.

The assistance will be provided once, and only to children born in Thinadhoo and registered in the city.

A child will be considered registered upon issuance of an ID card. Applications for council assistance must be submitted within one month of registration.

This policy comes at a time when Thinadhoo’s city status is under scrutiny, with an ongoing case against the Thinadhoo City Mayor Saud Ali over allegations of attempting to secure city status for the island despite not meeting the required population threshold.