Rights defenders demand to simplify granting housing to IDPs in Batumi

The forced migrants (or internally displaced persons – IDPs) living in the Batumi neighbourhood "Dream City" should receive new housing according to the criteria of their social vulnerability; the emphasis on granting housing based on registration is fraught with conflicts, activists of the NGO "Centre for Social Justice" assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in February 2021, the construction of three apartment blocks for IDPs was launched in the "Dream City" neighbourhood in Batumi, the capital of Adjara. In the opinion of activists, for political reasons, local authorities would not voice out clear criteria for granting new apartments to "Dream City" residents. On September 26, 2021, they held another action demanding that they be provided with housing.

The NGO "Centre for Social Justice" has called on the authorities of Adjara to simplify the criteria for residents of the "Dream City" for receiving housing, as well as to ensure transparent information about the resettlement process, the newspaper entitled "Batumelebi" has written.

The NGO has noted that Adjara authorities had prioritized the territorial principle, while the criteria of social vulnerability were moved to the background. Thus, the status of a disabled person, a large family, an absence of a breadwinner, a veteran status and so on are now of secondary importance.

The neighbourhood "Dream City" appeared in 2012. The residents of the Upper Adjara, who has suffered from a landslide, live therein. Officially, 1500 residents live there, but according to unofficial data, twice as many.