CONTROL SERVICE OF RA PRESIDENT SENDS 630 APPLICATIONS TO PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 25, 2008
YEREVAN

The RA President’s Control Service sent 630 applications on intitiation
of proceedings to the Prosecutor’s Office in the second half of 2008,
the head of the service Hovhannes Hovsepian said at the December 25
press conference.

According to him, during that period the RA Nature Protection
Ministry’s study of the activities related to the operation of 19
nonmetal mines near Yerevan revealed violations in 15 mines. First
of all, these mines were passed from the state to the private sector
without acceptance, which makes the registration of mining volumes
impossible. Basalt, clay and gypsum mines are illegally operated near
Yerevan. H. Hovsepian said that those operating 15 out of the 19 mines
indicated only 30% of extracted volumes in their reports submitted to
tax bodies. The 40 ha occupied by 19 mines were leased by the state
without a lease agreement. The damage done to the state because of
violations committed by the indicated 15 economic entities amounted
to 242 million drams (about 785 thousand USD).

H. Hovsepian added that following the October 8 consultation on issues
of mines’ operation with the participation of Armenian president, an
interdepartmental commission was set up to examine this sector. Damage
of a total of 626 million drams was revealed as a result of checks
of 36 entities operating mines.

The Control Service examined the correspondence of the leasing of
land plots in Sevan National Park to the legislation. It came to
light that out of the lease agreements signed with 983 natural and
juridical persons, the agreements with 472 persons did not have state
registration, as a result of which the unpaid lease payments amounted
to 30 million drams. Besides, construction work by "false permission"
was done in the park.

In the words of H. Hovsepian, checks in the system of the State
Committee of Cadastre revealed that the damage to the state due to
privatization of lands at a lower value than it was envisaged amounted
to 300 million drams. Damage due to registration of lands in a lower
zone during the settlements’ zoning process made one billion drams.

Numerous cases of illegal construction were prevented, and over 10
structures were dismantled as a result of examination of activities
of Yerevan mayor’s office. H. Hovsepian announced that "some heads of
the cadastre, top executives of the mayor’s office, head masters of
schools were dismissed", and the dismissal process "reached the level
of a deputy minister". The work of some departments was also checked.

H. Hovsepian said that the number of application-complaints that
the Control Service received from citizens in the second half of
2008 exceeded the respective index of last year by 250%. In the past
seven months about 10,000 applications were received, 25% of which
were related to work of Yerevan mayor’s office, 17% to the court and
legal system, and 16% to the social system. 37.1% of applications got
a positive solition. Besides, in the second half of 2008 the Control
Service organized reception of 4,800 citizens. Its studies are based
on mass media publications and programs.