Tweet
Yerevan is our home
Yervand Zakharian, Yerevan Mayor
Dear readers,
Between April 4 and 11, 2005, you had an opportunity to address your
questions on the Yerkir's website to YERVAND ZAKHARIAN, Yerevan Mayor.
Below are the answers to your questions. See the full version of the
interview in Armenian.
Thank you for your active participation: Spartak Seyranian,
editor-in-chief of "Yerkir" Weekly.
Onnik Krikorian - As a British citizen now living in Yerevan and working
for Edik Baghdasarian I have been shocked by the amount of environmental
destruction unleashed on the city. Although the Mayor's Office continues
to talk of fighting illegal construction in the capital, we all know
that it is doing nothing to combat construction when it is undertaken by
senior officials and their relatives. When will the Mayor's Office
finally start to do its job properly in this regard. At the same time,
while the courts have recently ruled in favor of Edik Baghdasarian, when
will you finally provide Hetq Online with full details of the decisions
by your office that resulted in the desecration of the park around the
Opera? Failure to do this is just a continuation of the disregard for
the law that many accuse your office of showing. Thank you, Onnik
Krikorian, Hetq Online
Yervand Zakharian - In its time, the municipality has presented a
complete report containing the details of the bases on which these lands
were allocated. The report also mentioned that the constructions were
carried out private by companies. The Yerevan mayor has no authority to
publicize data about property of a legal person (business) without the
latter's consent.
Let's be frank. I would prefer to be held accountable for my period in
office. But we all are concerned about today's situation. Many of these
structures certainly do not correspond to the environment, but I am sure
they will be removed eventually. Those structures have been built in
different times when the control and the awareness of the issue were not
as acute. Significant investments have been made in these constructions
and they have been legalized. One official cannot simply overturn this.
The legislation should be improved, let's work here. You must have
noticed too that the state control has been strengthening; what could be
easily done before is not possible now. We are planning to find
compensation money to remove those structures, but it should be done
gradually, in the course of time as the overall economic conditions
improve.
Vatche - Mr. Zakharian, when are you going to solve all the issues
related to public transportation, making sure the routes are clearly
organized (ie not all traffic going through Mashtots and stopping
wherever they feel like it, thus causing traffic) and the buses are safe
? Also, the notorious "traffic cops" give a bad image to our city. Do we
really need these corrupt people?
Yervand Zakharian - Presently a new transportation routes network for
Yerevan aimed at reducing the traffic in the central streets and
optimization of the routes in operation is being elaborated. After the
new routes plan is approved, we are planning to carry out a program
aimed at marking the bus stops clearly and making sure that buses do not
make stops outside these bus stops. The preparatory works are already
under way. A tender for a project of designing bus stops has been
announced by the municipality, and based on its results, the we will
start to repair, construct and equip bus stops.
As for the safety concerns, I must note that according to the tender
requirements, vehicles manufactured before 1988 will no more be allowed
to take part in the tenders, and only "fresh" and technically fit
vehicles will be allowed to operate.
In regard with the traffic cops: the Yerevan municipality is engaged
only in joint control and monitoring of public transportation. Other
than that, it is the Armenian Police that is in charge of traffic cops
(state automobile inspectors).
Hasmik Ghazaryan - Yerevan is not only confined to the center right?
Then when are there going to be placed litter-bins everywhere else?
Yervand Zakharian - Bins are placed not only in the center; simply, the
situation with bins is better in the center. The Yerevan municipality
has recommended the district heads to place more bins in their
communities by April 16, 2005. Though, about 5,000 large and 3,500 small
bins have been placed in the city, this number does not meet the demand.
1,000 more bins will be placed by April 16; this is not a satisfactory
number either but would improve the sanitary situation in the capital.
Those works will be a continuous process.
Vatche - Mr. Zakharian, when I look all the beautiful Armenian
architecture-inspired buildings of Yerevan, I cannot but also see all
the "ugly" additions made to them, all the neglect, all the "ugly"
rooftops which make our beloved city look more like a "camp" than a
beautiful city. What are the plans of the municipality to bring order to
urban development and to urban revival?
Yervand Zakharian - To be really frank, we should admit that each of us
is to blame for such ugly additions. In many cases, these are results of
unjustifiable permissions; in other cases, those structures were built
without authorization and with lack of elementary care for --as you put
it -- "our beloved city's" image. Hereafter, the municipality will grant
such permissions only in well-established cases and only if such
permissions do not contradict with the overall architectural image of
the building, and provided that the building has a single project.
In general, the problem of roofs, and especially their architecture, is
among the unsolved issues.
http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=interview&id=27
Yervand Zakharian, Yerevan Mayor
Dear readers,
Between April 4 and 11, 2005, you had an opportunity to address your
questions on the Yerkir's website to YERVAND ZAKHARIAN, Yerevan Mayor.
Below are the answers to your questions. See the full version of the
interview in Armenian.
Thank you for your active participation: Spartak Seyranian,
editor-in-chief of "Yerkir" Weekly.
Onnik Krikorian - As a British citizen now living in Yerevan and working
for Edik Baghdasarian I have been shocked by the amount of environmental
destruction unleashed on the city. Although the Mayor's Office continues
to talk of fighting illegal construction in the capital, we all know
that it is doing nothing to combat construction when it is undertaken by
senior officials and their relatives. When will the Mayor's Office
finally start to do its job properly in this regard. At the same time,
while the courts have recently ruled in favor of Edik Baghdasarian, when
will you finally provide Hetq Online with full details of the decisions
by your office that resulted in the desecration of the park around the
Opera? Failure to do this is just a continuation of the disregard for
the law that many accuse your office of showing. Thank you, Onnik
Krikorian, Hetq Online
Yervand Zakharian - In its time, the municipality has presented a
complete report containing the details of the bases on which these lands
were allocated. The report also mentioned that the constructions were
carried out private by companies. The Yerevan mayor has no authority to
publicize data about property of a legal person (business) without the
latter's consent.
Let's be frank. I would prefer to be held accountable for my period in
office. But we all are concerned about today's situation. Many of these
structures certainly do not correspond to the environment, but I am sure
they will be removed eventually. Those structures have been built in
different times when the control and the awareness of the issue were not
as acute. Significant investments have been made in these constructions
and they have been legalized. One official cannot simply overturn this.
The legislation should be improved, let's work here. You must have
noticed too that the state control has been strengthening; what could be
easily done before is not possible now. We are planning to find
compensation money to remove those structures, but it should be done
gradually, in the course of time as the overall economic conditions
improve.
Vatche - Mr. Zakharian, when are you going to solve all the issues
related to public transportation, making sure the routes are clearly
organized (ie not all traffic going through Mashtots and stopping
wherever they feel like it, thus causing traffic) and the buses are safe
? Also, the notorious "traffic cops" give a bad image to our city. Do we
really need these corrupt people?
Yervand Zakharian - Presently a new transportation routes network for
Yerevan aimed at reducing the traffic in the central streets and
optimization of the routes in operation is being elaborated. After the
new routes plan is approved, we are planning to carry out a program
aimed at marking the bus stops clearly and making sure that buses do not
make stops outside these bus stops. The preparatory works are already
under way. A tender for a project of designing bus stops has been
announced by the municipality, and based on its results, the we will
start to repair, construct and equip bus stops.
As for the safety concerns, I must note that according to the tender
requirements, vehicles manufactured before 1988 will no more be allowed
to take part in the tenders, and only "fresh" and technically fit
vehicles will be allowed to operate.
In regard with the traffic cops: the Yerevan municipality is engaged
only in joint control and monitoring of public transportation. Other
than that, it is the Armenian Police that is in charge of traffic cops
(state automobile inspectors).
Hasmik Ghazaryan - Yerevan is not only confined to the center right?
Then when are there going to be placed litter-bins everywhere else?
Yervand Zakharian - Bins are placed not only in the center; simply, the
situation with bins is better in the center. The Yerevan municipality
has recommended the district heads to place more bins in their
communities by April 16, 2005. Though, about 5,000 large and 3,500 small
bins have been placed in the city, this number does not meet the demand.
1,000 more bins will be placed by April 16; this is not a satisfactory
number either but would improve the sanitary situation in the capital.
Those works will be a continuous process.
Vatche - Mr. Zakharian, when I look all the beautiful Armenian
architecture-inspired buildings of Yerevan, I cannot but also see all
the "ugly" additions made to them, all the neglect, all the "ugly"
rooftops which make our beloved city look more like a "camp" than a
beautiful city. What are the plans of the municipality to bring order to
urban development and to urban revival?
Yervand Zakharian - To be really frank, we should admit that each of us
is to blame for such ugly additions. In many cases, these are results of
unjustifiable permissions; in other cases, those structures were built
without authorization and with lack of elementary care for --as you put
it -- "our beloved city's" image. Hereafter, the municipality will grant
such permissions only in well-established cases and only if such
permissions do not contradict with the overall architectural image of
the building, and provided that the building has a single project.
In general, the problem of roofs, and especially their architecture, is
among the unsolved issues.
http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=interview&id=27