ACTIVIST MIGHT SUE GOVERNMENT OVER NORTHERN AVENUE BUILDING VIOLATIONS
Arman Gharibyan

socie ty
2009/08/25 | 15:14

"I’ve written twice to Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan but he has not
answered my letters. Architect Narek Sargsyan responded to my first
inquiry but failed to address the issue I had raised."

This is what Sedrak Baghdasaryan, President of the "Victims of
Government Needs" NGO, told "Hetq" regarding his inquiry as to who
authorized the construction of 12-14 story buildings on Northern
Avenue.

Mr. Baghdasaryan states that in the original blueprints for Northern
Avenue, building heights were topped off at 25 meters, or the same
height of the second story of the Opera House. This ceiling was duly
noted in Decision N774 of 2000.

"Today, however, most of the buildings on Northern Avenue surpass
this height. I want to know what government decree permitted such
construction," Mr. Baghdasaryan said.

Mr. Baghdasaryan forwarded his second inquiry to PM Sargsyan on July
5. According to Armenia’s Freedom of Information Act, PM Sargsyan
has a maximum of five days in which to respond.

When asked by "Hetq" if he wasn’t planning to take the matter to the
RoA Administrative Court in order to get the desired information,
Mr. Baghdasaryan responded, "It can’t be ruled out that we will
take the government to court since they have failed to respond to my
written inquiries. In his response, Narek Sargsyan failed to answer
my question."