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On March 19 the NA Standing Committee on Agriculture and Environment organized parliamentary hearings on the RA draft law “On Approving the Annual and Complex Programmes of the Events for Restoration, Maintenance, Reproduction and Use of the Ecosystem of the Lake Sevan,” where the NA deputies, representatives of the ministries, international organizations, the NGOs and the scientists took part.

The Chairman of the RA State Committee for Water Management of the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration Andranik Andreasyan in his report has noted that there is deficit of water in the Ararat Plateau, and it is proposed to fill in it from the Lake Sevan.

Andranik Andreasyan answered the attendees’ questions, which related to the evaluation of the influence of the water outflow from the Lake Sevan, the construction and the operation of the new reservoirs and the ecological risks of the Lake.

In his report the RA Minister of Nature Protection Aram Harutyunyan has mentioned that the temporary character of the bill is very important, which will allow to solve the issues connected with the irrigation during the upcoming 5 years, then to restore the water resource.

Representatives of the NGOs, scientists, ecologists delivered speeches and expressed their concerns on the bill.

According to the ecologists, the increase of water will damage the ecosystem of the lake, promote the swamping of the lake water and will create ecological risks.

Summing up the hearings the Committee Chairman Martun Grigoryan expressed conviction that the raised issues and the presented recommendations would be debated at the upcoming sitting of the Committee.