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On July 6, at the convened NA extraordinary session by the presentation of the RA Deputy Minister of RA Environment Gayane Grigoryan, the draft law on Making Addenda and Amendments to the RA Water Code with the enclosed package was debated.

According to the Deputy Minister, the revision of the draft with the legislative package stems from the decision of the Government programme for 2021-2026, and its adoption is consistent for the maintenance of the national water resource through the creation the relevant mechanisms of the water resource management, the meeting of requirements of the citizens and economy with necessary quantity and quality through the effective management of the usable water resources, the prevention of the deterioration of the status of the superficial and underground water bodies, the improvement and the restoration of the severely changed water bodies status and ensuring the ecological stability of the environment.

Main notions were established and regulations were set by the package.

In particular, the notion of the comprehensive management of water resources has been set, as one of the main ideas of the RA Water Code is the principle of the pool comprehensive management of water resources being carried out by all progressive countries and turning to that principle.

The principle of ensuring water supply and drainage equal accessibility has been set, which will ensure equal accessibility for the persons.

The legal bases of uninterruptedly non-use of the water use permission for 3 years were specified. The permission of water use without their availability is considered invalid.

In his speech, the NA deputy Vigen Khachatryan, highlighting the necessity of the presented package, noted that this is the issue which should also be debated with the participation of the concerned persons. According to him, the debate should follow the hearings: “This is the issue that we should not solve independently without specifying the attitude of the concerned organizations, including the communities.” The deputy proposed his colleagues to avoid urgently debating similar issues.

In his concluding speech the Deputy Minister underlined that the abovementioned draft was circulated for one year and a half in the relevant departments, numerous internal debates were held, also debated in different committees of the National Assembly and also public hearings took place.