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Seda Ghukasyan

Armenian Parliamentary Committee Rejects Bill Providing Utility Bill Assistance to Pensioners Living Alone

The Armenian parliament’s Standing Committee on Health and Social Affairs today voted down a Bright Armenia faction proposal to provide pensioners living alone 5,000 AMD ($10) monthly in utility payment assistance.  

Srbuhi Grigoryan, the bill’s sponsor, told committee members that the money would go to retirees who have no heirs and rely solely on their pensions.

Grigoryan said there are 11,851 single elderly people registered in Armenia and that the bill, if passed, would cost 711.1 million drams annually.

Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Anna Zhamkochyan countered that the government is already implementing a program for the reimbursement of utility bills and that initiative is not necessary.

Zhamkochyan argued that it is not clear who will be the beneficiaries of this project, as there is no such formulation in the legislation for single elderly pensioners.  

The deputy minister said that the government already provides assistance, at a minimum of 4,200 drams monthly, to 70,000 families to cover gas and electricity costs.

Grigoryan countered that there is no gas in most rural communities, so a 30% compensation for the consumed gas is meaningless.

She said that 7759 families receive compensation for gas consumed, 10815 families for electricity.

Committee Chair Narek Zeynalyan suggested postponing discussion of the bill and presenting an amended version that would increase the amount of compensation for consumed electricity, taking into account that there is no natural gas in some communities.

Grigoryan submitted the bill for a vote anyway and it was scrapped.

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