Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received a group of former soldiers who have retired in accordance with the established procedure.
They submitted their comments and suggestions to Nikol Pashinyan about the Government’s decision, which provides for the allocation of 5,705 million drams to the Ministry of Defense to solve the housing problem of soldiers who were eligible for getting an apartment, but were not accommodated during their service.
The decision contemplates the award of a 2-year housing purchase certificate with an average value of 5,000,000 AMD in the event of written consent from beneficiaries.
“In fact, today we have about 1,200 beneficiaries on the waiting list for housing. We were at a deadlock on this issue as there was no progress or minor changes took place. We had a problem that this process was going to come out of the brink. We found that today, the government can allocate 5 billion drams to support the beneficiaries, which does not mean that we are saying: “Take these 5 billion drams and the problem is solved.” This means that there is such a possibility that we are providing. Among these 1,200 people, some will receive not only the opportunity, but also the solution to their problem,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
The Acting Prime Minister then presented the certificate of the Cadastre Committee, according to which the cost of a one-room apartment in 95% of the regions is less than 5 million drams, in half of the regions the cost of a 2-room apartment is less than 5 million drams, and a 3-room apartment costs less than 5 million drams in a third of the regions. Nikol Pashinyan noted that only 370 of the 1,200 beneficiaries live in Yerevan.
“So we will solve a problem for several people. That is, we have done a very important thing; the problem is no longer in neutral. There will be people for whom this solution will not be favorable, our commitment to them will continue to be preserved. We say that we have been able to solve the problem of some beneficiaries in the last seven months and if we move at the same pace, we will solve the problem of others,” the Acting Prime Minister said.
Nikol Pashinyan added that in a month, the Ministry of Defense will make its decision how and with what principle the 5 billion drams will be distributed. The Acting Prime Minister emphasized that in this respect all proposals should be submitted to the committee responsible. At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan accepted the proposal of the participants at the meeting and expressed his willingness to involve their representative on the commission. The Acting Head of Government emphasized that he had charged the persons responsible to ensure that the implementation of the process was as transparent as possible.