Tatarstan deputies refuse idea of regional Platon
Though a half of hallways are in ruins because of lorries, a new duty won’t be imposed not to worsen the state of businesses and cause a rise in prices
8,6bn rubles were allocated last year in Tatarstan to implement Safe and Quality Roads national project. But more than a half of republican highways still don’t meet requirements both in axle- load and road damage. Lorries above 12 tonnes do the biggest damage. The problem was discussed at a joint meeting and an expert council of the committee. The idea of creating an institution of toll road infrastructure was considered as a solution to the problem. However, after discussing all the pros and cons, the deputies refused to launch a regional Platon tax system. Read more in Realnoe Vremya’s report.
“Hopefully, we will find a pill to regulate this issue because now we are sitting on a powder keg”
2,68 million square metres of housing were delivered in Tatarstan, the construction works cost 356 billion rubles, Firs Vice Minister of the Tatarstan Ministry of Construction Alexey Frolov delivered a report.
“The global task we are aspiring for is to increase housing delivery to 3,5 million square metres a year by 2030,” he said. “Next year the plan is 2,67 million square metres.”
If 65 public spaces were improved in the republic last year, another 69 will be beautified this year. 1,091 courtyards were improved for 8 billion rubles in Our Courtyard programme. 1,063 blocks of flats were carried out a major overhaul, more than a thousand are going to be repaired this year.
The deterioration of communal networks remains a hot-button issue. In Kazan, the percentage is 70%. An existing investment programme doesn’t allow conducting a major overhaul of the network. Moreover, it is a headache not only for the capital of the republic but also its new relatively new cities: Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been decided to allocate money yet,” Frolov claimed. “Hopefully, we will find a pill to regulate this issue because now we are sitting on a powder keg.”
In the speaker’s opinion, Tatarstan’s Housing Fund needs to be structured.
“Owners who paid real money for new housing in various ongoing programmes choose a house management way themselves, therefore they should be held be accountable themselves, without the state,” Frolov is sure.
“And the housing that was privatised by enterprises and turned into municipal property after communal services should be managed by a municipality. In this case, managing companies will have certain guarantees and their own programmes to keep the houses in a proper state.”
Postponement of regional Platon
62 km of roads were built, four pipelines were laid, more than 371 km of regional roads and six bridges were repaired in Tatarstan last year. Vice Head of the Tatarstan Ministry of Road and Transport Artyom Chukin presented a report.
“The project Safe and Quality Roads is especially important for us,” he claimed. “Last year, the funding was equal to 8,6bn rubles. 262 km of roads were repaired additionally thanks to this money.”
The committee examined the initiative of creating an institution of toll road infrastructure at regional and municipal level. The introduction of a duty to compensate for the damage done to regional roads by lorries over 12 tonnes was on the agenda. At the moment, transporters pay for using federal highways in Platon tax system. According to the Tatarstan Ministry of Transport, a big part of regional roads, which are 13,500 km long, has the 4th technical category and are designed for 6 tonnes of axle load. Unfortunately, more than 52% of republican highways don’t meet requirements for both axle load and road damage.
“The development of a culture of toll roads is an inevitable future, the institution will be founded in any case,” claimed Vice Chairman of the Committee for Housing Policy and Infrastructural Development Alexander Tygin. “Such a practice already exists in tens of countries around the world and allows effectively maintaining the quality of the road at a high level.”
After a financial study, experts concluded that the optimal road duty must vary from 3,07 to 8,63 rubles per kilometre to completely offset the damage done by juggernauts. After considering all pros and cons the deputies had to refuse this idea:
“The new duty will worsen the financial and economic state of entrepreneurs and increase manufacturers’ transport expenses. All this will have an impact on the end price for products for the population. After an analysis, the committee considered the development of a legislative initiative unfeasible and excluded it from the plan for works,” Alexander Tygin concluded.
Earlier, authorities intended to restrict lorries’ access to roads of the republic. In Kazan, they filled even central streets.
New initiatives
Parliamentarians discussed an initiative of creating a specialised republican enterprise to maintain dams, which is especially topical amid the current severe flooding in Tatarstan. But the head of the committee is convinced that regulations should be examined first.
“The story is super important,” he stressed. “We see hundreds of houses, entire settlements are in the water. It depends not only on waterworks but also on our enthusiasm. We will once lay a road in one place, while what was above and beneath quickly changed its terrain.”
At the end of the meeting, they decided to create a taskforce to monitor legislation and legal precedents in integrated territory development. A corresponding law is going to be adopted later this year.