Mr. Begoyan, be a little careful in your statements, soon it will be revealed that families have lived in those cottages for centuries. Avinyan

In the New Nork administrative district, an area of 50 hectares has been studied. This was reported today, February 26, during the regular meeting of the City Hall's operational staff by Armen Begoyan, director of the 'Greening and Environmental Protection' municipal enterprise.

According to him, the study yielded cadastre maps and information on registered rights. 'It has become clear that an area of 5 hectares has been allocated to the Yerevan Zoo for the expansion of its premises. At least 36 hectares of that area is considered community property and is included in the list of areas subject to greening according to Yerevan's general plan. Several dozen unauthorized constructions have been discovered in this 36-hectare area, including residential houses, public buildings, garages, and other auxiliary structures. About 7 hectares of the community area have been illegally delineated and fenced. About 4 hectares of that area are occupied by unauthorized constructions,' noted Begoyan.

He showed the areas on the map, saying: 'At the beginning of Gay Avenue, a 1900 square meter area is subject to greening according to the city plan, but it is unclear how this section has been privatized. In the adjoining part, on about 2 hectares, we see that there are fenced, small constructed cabins. Around that area, there are about 10 fenced lots, 4 of which have cabins. People live in 4 of them, one of which is occupied by a family, and their housing issue needs to be resolved,' said Begoyan.

Tigran Avinyan responded. 'Mr. Begoyan, after your statement, it will be clarified that families have lived there for centuries. Let's be a little careful in these statements because we are talking about unauthorized constructions, about lands seized from the community, and about these cottages in green areas, which are unacceptable. We will discuss social programs later.'

Begoyan also added that establishing an urban forest in that 26-hectare area is crucial for the cleanliness of Yerevan's air and that the organization is ready to carry out irrigation after freeing up those areas, perform sanitary cutting, prepare the area this year, and establish an urban forest next year.

Tigran Avinyan instructed to remove all 'cottages' from that 26-hectare area within a week. 'For decades, we have lost a significant amount of green space in Yerevan. Unordered constructions at the expense of green areas have not ceased due to various justifications and excuses. For already 1-2 years, this logic is being put to an end. Moreover, the land seized from Yerevan, particularly from green areas, is also theft,' announced Tigran Avinyan.