ArmInfo.On November 9, the Armenian government approved the procedure for issuing an additional 50 thousand drams to forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh to cover primary consumer expenses in November and December.
As stated by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan, the beneficiaries will be persons who are beneficiaries of a one-time assistance in the amount of 100,000 drams, with some exceptions. "Those persons who temporarily reside in hotels or guesthouses not located in the Republic of Armenia, who have more than 2 million drams in their bank accounts, will not be beneficiaries," Mkrtchyan said.
As the minister noted, in this case, only the account owner will not receive the payment, but his family members will. The restriction does not apply to citizens receiving compensation from the Servicemen Life and Health Insurance Foundation. The program will also not be used by those who were registered in the Republic of Armenia before the forced displacement.
In addition, assistance will not be provided to those citizens who are currently living in hotels and guest houses. Mkrtchyan recalled that forcibly displaced citizens receive 50 thousand drams to cover housing costs, and in order to qualify for an additional 50 thousand drams for two months, they must leave hotels and guest houses by November 15.
To become a beneficiary of the program, the applicant must give written consent to check their accounts so that the Central Bank can make sure that that only those who have less than 2 million drams in their accounts receive assistance. Electronic applications for financial assistance can be sent starting next week, and funds will be issued non-cash. About 10 billion drams will be allocated from the reserve fund for these purposes.
The minister also noted that within the framework of the program for issuing one-time assistance of 100 thousand drams, about 104,200 people received the amount.
According to the RA government, 100,632 forcibly displaced citizens entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh. As previously announced, in addition to one-time assistance of 100 thousand drams for urgent needs, residents of Artsakh (from October 2023 to March 2024 inclusive) will receive 40 thousand drams for 6 months (about $100) to cover housing expenses per month for person, and another 10 thousand drams each to pay for utilities. The program will cover all displaced citizens, regardless of age, with the exception of those in special centers and those who are not on the territory of Armenia. At the same time, property owners in Armenia will receive 10 thousand drams to pay utility bills. The total cost of the program will be 27 billion drams.