Epress.am News from Armenia
Not one town hall meeting has taken place in relation to the issue of the construction of a new tailing pond affecting the communities of Ayrum and Jojkan. An Ayrum village council member Oleg Dulgaryan spoke about the issue during a discussion at Media Center yesterday, February 24.
According to him, the residents only found out about the project when the government intervened to change the status of 40 hectares of land from agricultural to industrial. The same property foresees the building of the Akhtala Enrichment Plant’s tailing pond.
“A snap hearing was called on in order for the tailing pond to be built on 40 hectares near the Ayrum and Jojkan communities. That’s why the government gave a favorable conclusion and based on that conclusion, the council had to change the status of the land.”
Dulgaryan also said that the villagers already have many complaints about the current tailing dam.
According to president of the Greens Union of Armenia Hakob Sanasaryan, who was also present at the conference, the new tailing pond is to be found in a 2.5-8 km vicinity of 12 communities, while the other tailing dam is 5km away.
Sanasaryan said that the current tailing dam in Akhtala already has a negative impact on the environment.
The Greens Union President also stressed that the tailing pond planned to be built could pollute the adjacent area with heavy metals. Tailing ponds also have an issue of hurting the state budget, because tailing ponds do not get taxed in Armenia. Last year, the environmentalist had written an open letter to Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, however in December the PM stated that he had not received it.
“Anyway, I personally handed the letter to the Prime Minister and until now there hasn’t been a response,” said Sansaryan. He had noted in the letter that Armenia’s mining sector was free from being taxed and that the situation has to change.
“I wrote that if it continues this way, Armenia will be left without water, as well as irrigable land. Neither did the National Assembly party factions respond. Basically, the force that exports Armenian metals, the force through which laws of robbery entered Armenia, that force probably also has power over the political parties,” said Sanasaryan.