ArmInfo.The Armenian government has recalculated the budgetary funds of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs allocated to address the housing needs of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.
The rationale for the draft decision, approved at the Cabinet meeting on October 9, emphasizes that many IDPs who received Armenian citizenship took out mortgages to purchase housing, which the government was obligated to repay from the state budget. However, since September of this year, payments on principal and interest have been virtually nonexistent. This circumstance may force the bank to resort to extreme measures-property seizure. An additional 121,444,000 drams will be allocated to address this issue, raising funds from a reduction in funding for the program to improve the demographic situation, which provides assistance to families with three or more children. The annual adjusted budget for this program is 27,009.7 million drams, but the projected expenditure is 25,346.1 million drams. The additional funds will be used to address the housing needs of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. Payments will be made through AMIO BANK. Mortgage repayments will begin on the 20th of each month.
The Armenian government only repays refugees' mortgages if they have received Armenian citizenship. Earlier, Armenian Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan reported that applications from Karabakh residents are being processed expeditiously (on average, within a month, while the overall average is 4.5 months), and no refusals have been recorded.
