The Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee considered, at its II reading, and supported the draft law “On the Special Protection of Green Plantings and State Forests within and Adjacent to the City of Tbilisi”.

The draft law was presented by one of its authors, Maia Bitadze, Chair of the Committee.

The purpose of the draft is, on the one hand, to facilitate the use of privately owned land plots by interested persons in a manner that maintains a balance between ecological sustainability and the right to property use, and, on the other hand, to support the uninterrupted implementation of several ongoing projects of the Tbilisi Municipality aimed at completing or replacing unfinished constructions and unsafe residential buildings.

The draft law clarifies the conditions under which the felling of green plantings is permissible where a construction permit has been issued.

According to the draft, the method for calculating the 25% limitation on the felling of green plantings during the construction permit issuance process has been refined. This includes a clear definition of the categories of plantings subject to the limitation and the exclusion of those plantings which, due to their biological characteristics and ecological value, should not be included in the calculation.

The draft law also provides for the possibility of the Tbilisi Municipal Council establishing special conditions regarding the felling or transplantation of green plantings for the purpose of completing or replacing unfinished construction projects and unsafe residential buildings.

The initiators of the draft law are Members of Parliament Maia Bitadze, Varlam Liparteliani, Anton Obolashvili, Rima Beradze, and Davit Kacharava.