Control Chamber of Armenia reveals violations in environmental
protection sphere

http://www.nt.am?shownews=1011347

YEREVAN , JANUARY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. During the January 14 sitting, the
Board of the RA Control Chamber approved the current reports on the
results of checks in environmental protection and several other spheres
in 2008. The chairman of the Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakarain said
following the sitting that the board plans to sum up the work done last
year at the upcoming 1-2 sittings, and the first results of the studies
under the 2009 program will be presented in April.

Presenting the reports approved on the same day, I. Zakarain said that
the examination of some programs implemented in the environmental
protection sphere in 2006-2007 revealed various violations of 226
million drams committed by the RA Ministry of Nature Protection. Most
violations were related to inefficient expenditures, and 63 million
drams will be paid back to the state budget. This type of violation was
mainly related to upward distortion of volumes during mine exploration,
inventory making and metrological measurements.

Violations were also revealed as a result of checks on the provision of
lands for use in the Sevan National Park and the collection of
payments. In particular, out of the total number of 904 land users in
the park, 492 did do any work in 2006-2008. The remaining 412
implemented work of various kinds, and only 25 of them did legal
construction work. 227 of 412 land users implemented work in areas
smaller than the permissible 1,908 meters under a governmental
decision, including 142 unauthorized structures, and 13 cases of
illegal land occupation.