Government seeks to extend social assistance to residents of border communities

The Parliamentary Committee on Territorial Administration and Environmental Protection has endorsed a government-authored bill proposing to extend social assistance to residents of 82 settlements in 13 border communities for another year, until January 1, 2028.

During this period, the program’s effectiveness is expected to be assessed and opportunities for improving it considered.

The bill was presented on November 11 at a meeting of the committee by Arnak Avetisyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

The Deputy Minister noted that the current law expires on January 1, 2027. To ensure the continuity of social assistance in border settlements, the Government proposes extending the deadline by one year.

According to Avetisyan, following discussions within the Government, it was decided to study, alongside the extension, how effectively the program, which has been in place since 2015, provides targeted support to beneficiaries.

“During this one-year period, we will assess the program’s effectiveness. That is why we propose extending the program for one year this time,” the Deputy Minister said, emphasizing the goal of improving the existing program as much as possible.

Avetisyan explained that the program compensates for part of the utility expenses of residents of border settlements, covering up to 50% of payments for natural gas, electricity and irrigation water. The assistance also includes compensation for school textbook costs, as well as compensation for the families of citizens injured or killed in mine explosions.

Responding to a question about the program’s financial scope, the Deputy Minister said that approximately 1 billion drams in assistance was provided to border settlements in 2025. Approximately the same amount is envisaged for 2026 and in the 2027 draft state budget.

He also presented the procedure for compensating utility payments: service providers apply the relevant reductions to residents’ bills and then submit the calculations to the offices of the regional governors.

The draft submitted by the Government also retains provisions on property tax compensation. In particular, the annual property tax on agricultural and residential land plots, as well as improvements to those plots, in the settlements covered by the program is to be paid from the state budget to the budget of the respective community.

The Government had approved the legislative initiative on October 1. Under the same decision, the Minister of Finance was instructed to assess the program’s effectiveness and submit the results to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure by August 1, 2027.

The bill will be debated at the upcoming plenary session.