On July 9, on the top of Mount Hatis, the construction of the statue of Jesus Christ was started at the initiative of the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" party, Gagik Tsarukyan.
After the uproar, the MESS and the Environment Ministries stated that there are historical-architectural monuments in Hatis, and construction can be carried out only with the appropriate permission.
However, photos were circulating on the Internet that, despite the ban of the state departments, the construction works are continuing in Hatis. On August 29, the "Gagik Tsarukyan" charitable foundation published a video presenting the final animated version of the "Monumental Statue-Complex of Jesus Christ" project.
Radar Armenia tried to determine from the responsible department whether the construction has been suspended or works are still underway in Hatis.
Gegham Melikbekyan, the press secretary of the Minister of MESS, assured us that there is no construction on the top of Mount Hatis. "Construction works on the top of Mount Hatis are currently suspended," said Melikbekyan, noting that he had no other information.
The Ministry of Environment also informed that the "Environmental Impact Testing Center" EITC did not receive any application documents after the suspension to carry out construction on the slopes of Mount Hatis.
Referring to the rumors that the construction works are continuing after the suspension, Ani Hakobyan, press secretary of the Ministry of Education, responded that the issue is in the Environmental Protection and Subsoil Inspection Authority field, stressing that the ministry is the policy maker.
"The experimental institution gives a conclusion of any activity but has no control function and authority in its further course. "After the suspension, construction is carried out or not, or what violations were recorded, that is the function of the Environmental Protection and Subsoil Inspection Body," said Hakobyan.
We also tried to contact the head of the Environmental Protection and Subsoil Inspection Authority, Hovhannes Martirosyan, from whom we asked to send a written request.
On July 7, at the regular session of the executive, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the government's preliminary assessment of the project of building a statue of Jesus Christ on His is positive, informing that the relevant documents have already been submitted to the government. Government bodies should decide because there is a need for several administrative decisions.
Hayk Magoyan
