Yerevan Municipality`s  `uncompromisingness` determined by size of  the money!

ArmInfo.The Yerevan Municipality , in particular Mayor Tigran Avinyan, announced the uncompromisingness of the city authorities on the issue of illegal construction in the capital. In particular, since last year, led by Avinyan, work has been actively carried out in the city to eliminate illegal buildings.

But, considering the situation around the Scientific Technological  Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry SNCO (henceforth:  Center), the question arises - how unbiased is the approach of the  mayor of the capital in his uncompromisingness?

After all, only recently in the administrative district of Nor-Nork  the mayor's office announced the demolition of houses that people  built with their own hands decades ago on land that is public  property.  According to the residents of Nor-Nork, they paid for  utilities,  ennobled and landscaped the territory, and repeatedly  tried to privatize these lands  to enter into legality, which they  were denied. It is noteworthy that some of them even paid property  tax, which is possible in case of cadastral registration. And such a  policy of the city authorities is being carried out even though they  recently came out with the slogan "let's return the lands to the  residents of Yerevan", which they are very proud of.

However, regarding the issue of the Center, the territory of the  swimming pool is public property, as SNCO employees testify, the  mayor's office is in no hurry to return to the community. This area  was illegally alienated back in 2007, and construction work on the  construction of a multi-storey residential building has already begun  on its territory relatively recently.

Researchers from the scientific institute gathered today at the  government building and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture  and Sports, demanding a meeting with the responsible persons, in  particular with the Minister of the National Social Sciences and  Culture Zhanna Andreasyan.  Scientists oppose the construction of an  apartment building because it will paralyze the research work of the  Center. They agree to become part of the Academic City, to move  there, by decision of the government, but at the same time they ask  not to destroy science - either to stop construction before they  move, or to provide a temporary site for the normal work of the  Center until the start of the Academic City.  In a conversation with  journalists, the Center's lawyer Tigran Naghdalyan said that the  problems began in 2007, when the Center's swimming pool was illegally  alienated, as a result of which a criminal case was even initiated.  But in 2017, at the request of the investigator, the criminal case  was suspended with a warning that the statute of limitations had  expired. At the same time, as Naghdalyan noted, numerous employees of  the mayor's office accepted the fact of their unlawful actions, as a  result of which false conclusions were drawn up and this site was  illegally alienated.

Further, as the lawyer continued, the attorney general's office  appealed to the mayor's office, since this site is public property.  "But the mayor did not take any measures, and the mayor's inaction  continues to this day," he emphasized.  The Center continued its  struggle, filing statements with various government agencies and  government officials, which also did not yield any results. The Prime  Minister announced a decision to form a commission on this issue, but  his instructions were not carried out. "As a result, we have a  situation where the mayor's office gave permission for illegal  construction. Although the latter had to go to court to return public  lands, which, as we can see, they are now actively doing," the lawyer  said.  In 2023, the Center appealed to the Prosecutor General's  Office with a request to submit a claim to the Administrative Court,  which was subsequently rejected. After that, this issue was  challenged in the Court of Appeals, which was also rejected, noting  that first it is necessary to apply to the Ministry of Territorial  Administration and Infrastructure and the Capital City Hall, and only  in case of inactivity of the latter, the process can be started.

Meanwhile, according to the lawyer the case files indicate that the  Prosecutor General's Office appealed to the mayor's office in 2017,  and the inaction has been going on for 7 years. Afterwards, the  Prosecutor General's Office unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of  Cassation. "According to our information, the Prosecutor General's  Office again submitted a complaint to the court," Naghdalyan noted.   Referring to international standards, he emphasized that construction  works should be carried out at least 200 meters away from chemical  warehouses and laboratories, and in the case of the Center,  construction is carried out at a distance of 30-40 meters. He  explained that it is not safe, because various materials are stored  in the warehouse, not excluding that anything can happen in the  laboratories as a result of heavy construction equipment hits, even  an explosion.

Today the work of the Center is paralyzed, scientists are on strike,  because it is impossible to work under construction conditions, which  also risks damage to expensive devices and equipment.

Back in 2022, the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of  Armenia (NAS) and the Scientific Technological Center of Organic and  Pharmaceutical Chemistry SNCO issued a joint statement stating that  the construction of an apartment building creates uncontrollable  risks for the work and development of a one- of-a-kind research and  production center of strategic importance for the Republic of  Armenia.  In a distributed statement, NAS cited the reasons for the  inexpediency of building a residential building on the territory of  the Center. In particular, the statement noted that the law prohibits  the construction of buildings within a radius of 30 meters from  chemical laboratories; In addition, the SNCO has expensive equipment  that can be damaged or fail as a result of any shaking; chemical  emissions as a result of ongoing research may cause complaints from  residents of the new building, etc.

According to the approved investment program by the Government of  Armenia, in the summer of 2021, the Green Property Development  company intends to build a multifunctional building on the site of  the swimming pool on the territory of the the Scientific  Technological Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry SNCO.  The total amount of financing is about 10 billion drams.