Kotayk Governor Appeals to Prosecutor’s Office Noticing Legal Violations

Kotayk Governor Romanos Petrosyan has today appealed to the Prosecutor of Kotayk Province, instructing relevant authorities to investigate the auctions of community-owned land plots held in the city of Abovyan on March 7, 2019.

The review of the auction process by the Kotayk governor’s office identified several legal violations, some of which contradicted Armenian legislation and other regulatory norms.

In this regard, the governor's office has formally suggested to the Abovyan city municipality to annul the auction of the aforementioned land plots based on part 2 of Article 68 of the RA Land Code and point 59.2 of the procedure established by the RA Government’s decision dated April 12, 2001, No. 286.

In response, the Abovyan municipality informed that the processes leading to the auction were carried out in accordance with the established procedures of Armenian legislation, also noting that a typographical error in the auction announcement had been corrected and the land plot located at address No. in Abovyan had been removed from the auction list.

Additionally, the municipality was informed with another letter that the 4 designated land plots submitted for the auction on March 7 intersect with gas and water pipelines serving the community, and they were asked to provide documented evidence of studies conducted by the municipality regarding these land plots.

As before, the municipality had “negative” information regarding the presence of underground utilities on the plots before and up to the auction day.

Considering the information provided by the Kotayk Province, the specified 4 land plots were withdrawn from the bidding “in accordance with current legislation.”

It should also be noted that the investigation conducted by the governor’s office revealed that lands not transferable by ownership rights were presented for auction without adequate examination.

Kotayk Governor Romanos Petrosyan once again reminds that ensuring the supremacy of law is the number one priority in all areas of the governance and local self-government activities in Kotayk, as entrusted to territorial management institutions by the Constitution and legislation of Armenia.

Accordingly, the processes of alienation of community-owned lands must be regulated exclusively by Armenian legislation, and any action causing damage to the state, the communities of the province or the legal rights and interests of citizens will face strict legal repercussions.