The agenda of the online meeting of the Milli Majlis Committee for Regional Affairs held on 16 February contained the three items that Committee Chairman Siyavush Novruzov announced as the gathering began.

First, the Committee looked at the annual work progress report by the Municipality Activity Administrative Oversight Authority. Rahman Mammadov, Head of the Municipality Administration Centre of the Ministry of Justice, told the assembly of the improved control and oversight achieved in 2020 as well as of the important steps to eliminate irregularities by the municipalities and to prevent further ones. He also mentioned the relevant legislative modifications. The Ministry of Justice scrutinised 79,858 municipal by-laws by way of administrative control last year. According to Mr Mammadov, 76.433 of them (95.7% of the total) were found to be in conformity with the Laws while those 2,939 that were not had been lined up for corrections or cancellation; the remaining 486 are under consideration currently.

Of the 3,503 applications regarding the activities of the municipalities that were submitted last year, 3,206 were considered and 156 of the latter were forwarded to appropriate agencies. Besides, 141 applications are under consideration at present. Also, Mr Mammadov said, 751 citizens were received and required steps were taken about their submissions during the reported year.

The undertaken municipality action administrative controls resulted in the Ministry passing proposals and filing lawsuits concerning reversal of the municipal by-laws sanctioning unlawful allotment of land amounting to 10,478 hectares in the aggregate. That brought about the nullification of the by-laws sanctioning conveyance of 396 hectares, renting of 6,850 hectares and dedication of 971 hectares. The total of 8,217 hectares of land went back to municipal ownership consequently.

Besides, 86 enlightenment events were arranged for members and staff of the municipalities up country.

Further to the report, several steps were taken also to carry out the tasks of improving reporting by the local self-government authorities, maintaining the openness of their workings and ensuring public involvement in the latter, all pursuant to the National Open Government Promotion Action Plan for 2020-2022 approved to the relevant order of the Head of State. All the action undertaken during the reported period pursued the goals of improving the local self-government institute, meeting the modern demands and boosting the local populace’s confidence in the municipal authorities.

After the annual report had been heard duly, the Committee member Sattar Mehbaliyev tabled the next two agenda items. He said that the Bill ‘On Certain Changes in the Administrative Territorial Organisation of the Sharur and Sadarak Provinces of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic’ envisaged the transfer of the Demirchi village of the rural administrative district by the same name from its current Sharur Administrative Province to the Sadarak one. Accordingly, the Demirchi Rural Administrative District is to be re-subordinated from the Sharur Province to the Sadarak Province. The 4,444 hectares of state-owned land within the administrative territory of the Sharur Province are to be made part of the administrative territory of the Sadarak Province, too. Mr Mehbaliyev explained that that had brought about corresponding adjustments in The List of the Municipalities of the Azerbaijan Republic appended to the Municipal Territories and Lands Law of the Azerbaijan Republic.

The said changes are intended to streamline governance, address the territorial units’ social and economic problems and further the qualitative improvement of the interaction between citizens and state authorities.

Committee Chairman Siyavush Novruzov and members of the Committee Nizami Jafarov, Mazahir Efendiyev, Kamran Bayramov, Javid Osmanov and Elshan Musayev made their remarks concerning the annual report by the Municipality Activity Administrative Oversight Authority and put forth a number of relevant suggestions. The MPs spoke in support of the proposed changes in the administrative territorial organisation of the Sharur and Sadarak provinces of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, besides.

It was recommended once the discussions had been over that all the three documents should be tabled at a plenary session of the Milli Majlis.

The committee members Emin Hajiyev, Malik Hasanov, Sabina Khasayeva, Aghil Mammadov, Tahir Rzayev and Aliabbas Salahzade took part in the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis