Why the ‘On Subsoil’ Bill Was Removed from the Agenda: The Connection Between the MP and the Deputy Minister

The ‘Jhoghovurd’ newspaper reports: On July 8, the National Assembly adopted the draft amendments to the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Subsoil, authored by the government, in the first reading. According to the bill, a subsoil usage permit will be granted to the extractor that presents updated data on resource studies. Moreover, according to the new amendment, the right to subsoil use will be granted not for 50 years, as stipulated by the current law, but for 25 years.

However, yesterday, on July 9, the second reading of the law was supposed to take place, but during the meeting of the Permanent Committee on Economic Issues, it was decided to postpone the discussion, citing concerns from experts as the reason.

Nevertheless, according to information from ‘Jhoghovurd’ newspaper, the real issue lies elsewhere, and one of the reasons is the disagreement between the bill's main presenter, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Lilia Shushanyan, and MP Mery Galstyan from the ‘My Step’ faction. Sources indicate that the MP expressed dissatisfaction that she was not in a leading role during the drafting and presentation of this law, and furthermore, her suggestions were not accepted.

Yesterday, ‘Jhoghovurd’ tried to obtain a comment from MP Mery Galstyan, but she did not respond to our phone calls. Notably, Galstyan is a close associate of the Vice President of the National Assembly, Lena Nazaryan.

For more details, see today’s edition of the newspaper.