The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast
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Tomsk Oblast Duma Speaker and Head of Duma Budgetary
and Financial Committee on a working visit to the North of the Oblast
and Financial Committee on a working visit to the North of the Oblast
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In Aleksandrovsky District they visited a number of social facilities, talked to district and town deputies, and met with local businesspeople.
The agenda of the visit included two secondary schools, two nursery schools, a new sports hall built on oil money, and the recently renovated central district hospital. According to the chief physician of the hospital Vyacheslav Kozlov, the hospital is fully staffed today. Oksana Kozlovskaya asked how they help young medical staff with housing. The chief physician answered that free housing is one of the key reasons for qualified specialists to come to work to the town and the district government helps the hospital with that. The government either pays the rent or provides municipal flats to doctors for the period of their work in the town.
In the meetings with local businesspeople, Oksana Kozlovskaya and Aleksander Kupriyanets were first of all interested what constraints for the development of business exist in the area. They visited a private bakery, a pine nut processing facility, and a 3D cinema, which is a rarity in rural areas of Russia. Almost everyone said, the worst problem was high cost of electric energy in Aleksandrovsky District because electricity mostly comes from diesel stations. Yet the local government does its best to help small business. “I have only positive impressions of what I have seen. It appears, everyone is more or less happy,” commented the Speaker.
After Aleksandrovskoye Speaker and Vice Speaker went to Strezhevoy. There they visited the biggest construction project in the area – a bridge across the Vakh River which will connect Strezhevoy with Nizhnevartovsk. The 9 million rubles project is approaching completion.
The project is going through its most complicated stage today – running the 171 m body of the bridge over the river. The work is split into 11 stages. The body structure is first mounted on a specially installed berth which will be later replaced by the driveway. In September, the bridge body which weighs a thousand tons will start to be pushed to the opposite bank of the river over permanent and temporary supports.
In 2012, Tomsk Oblast allocated for the project 100 million rubles. In 2013, it allocated 114.7 million rubles. In 2014 it plans to provide to the local budget 241.1 million rubles. The bridge is scheduled to be completed next year.
In Strezhevoy, Oksana Kozlovskaya and Aleksander Kupriyanets were shown new apartment blocks which are being built under the unfit and hazardous housing relocation program. At the end of the year two of the blocks will receive their occupants. Eight more houses will be completed and populated before 2015. Under federal standards, such construction projects are financed at 30,000 rubles per square meter. The government of Strezhevoy noted that this standard does not take into account specific features of northern territories. The 30,000 rubles is not enough to include all utility lines, construction materials, etc. which are generally priced higher than in the “big land”. Transportation to remote areas is also expensive.
Oksana Kozlovskaya urged the local leaders to be realistic about the fiscal year of 2014. “It will be different in that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Economic Development have again changed the national economy development forecast and brought it down to 2%. Initially it was almost 6%. This will undoubtedly impact all regions. Tomsk Oblast is no exception. So, I do not think there is point in relying on an assumption about positive growth dynamics.”
Key budgeting priorities have stayed the same: timely payment of salaries and benefits, and other social commitments. Speaker called upon the local deputies to take active part in 2014 budget discussions.
© The State Duma of the Tomsk oblast, 2007-2024