Rossiiskaya Gazeta: "Government to provide gas safety"
The tragedy in Astrakhan became the first topic on the agenda at yesterday's Government Presidium meeting. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised to make a decision on providing financial assistance to the victims of the explosion as soon as possible.
He said that the government will allocate 350 million roubles towards relocating the residents of the building damaged in the explosion, and a further 36 million roubles will be allocated in financial assistance to the injured and the families of the dead.
"The families of the dead will get 1 million roubles for each person who has been killed; every person with serious injuries will receive 400,000 roubles; every person with light injuries will get 200,000 roubles; the property which has been destroyed completely will be compensated with 100,000 roubles, and the property which has been partially lost will be compensated with 50,000 roubles per person. And in addition, each person will receive a lump sum of up to 10,000 roubles, but no more than 50,000 roubles per family," clarified Putin. "The decision will be made as soon as possible, today," promised the prime minister, adding that it is necessary to tackle all these problems jointly with the authorities of the Astrakhan Region. "There are families with many children, so I ask you to pay special attention to them."
First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said that the residents of the building in which the explosion took place are being relocated to new houses and are being provided with money to buy essential items.
"The government has held a meeting with senior executives of several Russian companies in order to provide free aid to the victims. All company owners were responsive to our request and agreed to furnish and equip new flats with essential items, such as refrigerators and linens. This will be done within 10-14 days. I will follow up on this in person," promised the first deputy prime minister.
He also mentioned that a special working group had been set up to prepare proposals to improve the safety of household gas equipment. Zubkov was especially concerned with the absence of gas detectors in residential areas.
"We will toughen operational requirements and increase the liability of those who are in charge of household gas supplies and safety of the people. I will hold the first session of the working group tomorrow," said Zubkov.
The discussion then moved on to salaries. Vladimir Putin asked that all the delayed payments be settled for the Armed Forces representatives, whose salaries were increased as of January 1, but were never paid. Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov explained that it was purely due to technical malfunctions.
"Take it under personal review," asked Putin. "That work should be carried through to eliminate any technical problems."
Serdyukov promised to correct everything.
Education Minister Andrei Fursenko assured the prime minister that teachers' salaries will match the average salaries in the regions' economy before the end of 2012. The first tranche in the amount of 30 billion roubles was already released to the regions, and the second tranche is scheduled for release before July 1. All schools will see improvements this year. Taking up the matter of financial aid, Viktor Zubkov promised that the government will allocate over 3.5 billion roubles to support livestock breeding.
The government will consider the problems that people with disabilities face. Putin believes that the programme on subsidies for creating jobs for people with disabilities should be expanded.
Minister of Healthcare and Social Development, Tatyana Golikova, recalled that the amount of subsidies varies from 30,000 to 58,000 roubles per worker. The programme was developed on the federal level and with practically all the regions.
Government
The government will allocate 350 million roubles towards relocating the residents of the building damaged in the explosion, and a further 36 million roubles will be allocated in financial assistance to the injured and the families of the dead.
Vitaly Petrov
