In the village of Ranchpar in the Ararat region, illegal sand mining is taking place in the riverbed. The responsible party for this illegal mining is the wife of Sergay Bagratyan, a member of the Armenian National Congress “City Covernment Agreement” group, which is part of the ruling party. No investigations or agreements on mining were conducted prior to the commencement of these activities. Unfortunately, this illegal sand mining has been causing continuous destruction to an area that is designated as a nature preservation zone according to Armenia’s legislation, and this has been happening for several months now.

According to the data provided by the Ranchpar community, the road from Ranchpar village to the village of Araks, which is covered with sand from the Kasakh River, will be mined from the beginning of 2023. Aerial photographs already show evidence of the mining activities that have already begun.

The local mining company is owned by Husik Bagdasaryan, as per the data from the Cadastre Committee. The mining activities have caused ecological damage, and no permits have been granted for many years in accordance with the objectives of the area. In 2022, a lease for 64 hectares of land was registered under “Ararak” LLC.

According to the registration of legal entities, “Ararak” LLC was established in June 2022 by Naira Hakobyan, the wife of Sergay Bagratyan. She owns 100% of the shares of the company.

During a visit to Ranchpar village, it was observed that sand mining is being carried out using trucks and electronic devices for sand processing. Infrastructure for electronic weighing has also been set up in the area.

Prior to the commencement of mining activities, the responsible party is required to apply for permission from the Syunik Regional Administration. A comprehensive public hearing must then be held in the community. After the review of the mining applications and the comprehensive public hearing, another comprehensive public hearing should take place, which leads to the issuance of a mining permit.

The official position of the Syunik Region Administration is that no public hearings have been held in the community, no mining permits have been issued, and if any mining has taken place, it has been done without proper authorization.

The head of the administration clarified that a few applications have been submitted regarding the mining activities, and these documents have been presented to the administration of Masis.

It is important to question whether the responsible party for the mining activities in the community, Sergay Bagratyan’s wife, has conducted these activities without public hearings and without a mining permit in accordance with the legislation on mineral resources and exploitation.

In response to this question, Sergay Bagratyan’s wife, who is also a member of the mining company, stated that she has listened to the parties involved, including the representative of the administration, and that a statement regarding the sand exploitation will be issued from April 2023.

The official website of the Syunik Region Administration does not contain any information about “Ararak” LLC. Furthermore, the State Revenue Committee has announced that “Ararak” LLC has been moving goods without proper documentation.

During the conversation, the head of the administration mentioned several times that there have been various statements regarding the sand exploitation, and these have been presented to the administration of Masis.

“Hetq” will endeavor to clarify the list of these companies and find out how Sergay Bagratyan’s wife, who is responsible for the mining activities, bypassed the public hearings and the necessary mining permit in accordance with the legislation.

Հ.A. – “Hetq” from Armenia