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Compiled by Messenger Staff
Tuesday, August 23
Possible fine GEL 10 000 for changing windows

Rezonansi reports that replacing old windows with new ones, without the special permission of the Tbilisi Mayor's office, might result in a fine of GEL 10 000 for Tbilisi residents. According to the newspaper the regulation has already caused serious irritation and discontent in society. The new rules state that if a person decides to change old windows with new ones in his own flat / house, he must appeal to the Tbilisi Mayor for permission. The application for permission is free of charge.

As it became known, the initiative was pushed forward by the Tbilisi Mayor's office and was aimed at improving the construction process. Currently the Tbilisi Mayor's office does not mention an exact sum which a man would be fined, “if a Tbilisi resident decides to change old windows with new ones, he should request permission from the Mayoral and the permission would be delivered in five days. As for those, who have changed windows and carried out some constructive activities before August 16, the regulation will not affect them, “ the Tbilisi Mayor’s Public Service Department reports and adds that the application which would be presented in the Mayor's office, should enclose a photo image and the documents of the property.

Tbilisi residents are expressing concern about the severity of the fine and some are worried that failure to pay the large fine will lead to their property being under threat of forced sale.



Is Tbilisi water being sold again?

Kviris Palitra writes that Multiplex Energy Limited, which currently owns Tbilisi water had been created for one aim, to grab state property, and based on the newspaper this claim is proved by several incidents.

The Preparations for selling the state property started in 2007 with the changing of the law. Thereafter, the privatization of water lines and canalization system began. A bit later, a tender was declared for the purchase of the company. According to the newspaper, Tbilisi water was purchased by a less experienced company with low capabilities. The owner, the above mentioned company, had specified the tariffs and specified that the fee for water would be increased step by step. By 2018 the fee for water for one resident would be GEL 4 and 10 tetri. As Tina Khidasheli, representative of opposition Republican Party and member of Tbilisi City Hall states, the tariff for water was increased illegally, “it is written clearly in article 11 of the memorandum, that the price of water for 2011, should be GEL 2.95 and not the current fee.”

As the head of Tbilisi Mayoral judicial department, Irakli Abesadze states, Khidasheli’s statement is flawed, “the fee for water has been increased after Georgian Water and Power’s appeal to the Energy and Water regulation company. As for the memorandum, it is a commercial secret.”