A Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government approved an action plan for land acquisition and resettlement under the Joint Water Resources Management / Akhuryan River, Phase 1 Project. According to the reference note, a loan agreement on Kaps reservoir gravity irrigation system project implementation was signed between the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development (KfW) and the Republic of Armenia on December 19, in 2014. The half-built reservoir is located in the Akhuryan Valley (Shirak Marz), 22 km north of Gyumri. The project envisages dam reinforcement and rehabilitation. A reservoir with a capacity of 25 million cubic meters will be built in the first stage with the possibility of being expanded up to 60 million cubic meters in the future.

During the design stage, the consultant carried out an in-depth slope stability estimate in Jradzor, according to which its landslide resistance was assessed as risky. A decision was made to alienate the affected lands in Aregnadem, Gtashen and Byurakn settlements of Amasia community, as well as in Kaps and Hoghmik settlements of Marmashen and Sarapat communities, respectively.

According to Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Vache Terteryan, the state-funded resettlement of Jradzor community should be done in parallel with the implementation of the first stage of the program. The Prime Minister noted in this connection that for the first time in the history of the Third Republic a village will be built from scratch. “This program is important not only for the residents of Jradzor, but it is likewise important in terms of materializing our vision of the Armenian village in the 21st century. In fact, we can thereby address the problems faced in the field of urban development, so that the settlement can be established and developed exclusively in accordance with the applicable urban development standards and documents. It should serve as a model for the further organization of our rural life.”

The meeting approved a package of bills on amending a number of laws on the sanitary and epidemiological security of the population of the Republic of Armenia, which was developed based on the epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19.

Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan said that the state of emergency will not be extended in the Republic of Armenia in case the package of laws is adopted in due time. The measures and restrictions proposed in the draft will come into force following its adoption. In particular, quarantine may be imposed in the event of an emergency. The Minister stressed that the proposed regime differs from the legal regime of the state of emergency in terms of the severity of restrictions and clearer human rights protection mechanisms.

The Government presented a legislative initiative drafted by MPs Sisak Gabrielyan and Sipan Pashinyan on amending the RA Law “On Social Assistance to Border Communities.” The bill suggests providing one-time compensation to citizens affected by hostilities in border communities for damage or loss of property caused by shelling or military operations. Lump-sum assistance will be provided to citizens who have got first, second or third degree disability as a result of hostilities in the amount of 3, 2 and 1 million drams, respectively. One-time financial assistance in the amount of 5 million drams shall be provided to victims’ families.