Artic Hectare program in Karelia to expand by 2,000 hectares
© RIA Novosti. Ilya Timin

Artic Hectare program in Karelia to expand by 2,000 hectares

Minister of Property and Land Relations of Karelia Yanina Svidskaya presented a bill to expand the reach of the Arctic Hectare program in the republic at the Russian Arctic Public Council in Moscow. The bill would add about 2,000 hectares of non-forest land to the program.

“Let me remind you that forests make up 96.8 percent of the land already included in the program, while settlements and agricultural land account for only 3.2 percent. We have almost run out of areas that are not covered in forest, and the proposed changes would allow more citizens to receive land plots for free use,” Yanina Svidskaya said.

Following the discussions, the council approved the republic’s bill. This is a key stage that allows the bill to be submitted to the Legislative Assembly of Karelia for consideration.

Since the launch of the program, the Republic of Karelia has issued more than 700 positive decisions, which is a good result among the regions that implement the Far Eastern Hectare and the Arctic Hectare programs.