#3 - JRL 7175
RF can give up subsidies to housing/utilities sector in 3 years.
ITAR-TASS
May 8, 2003

In three years Russia will be able to give up subsidies to the housing and utilities sector, deputy head of the Russian State Committee for Construction (Gosstroi), Leonid Chernyshyov, told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

"The state is not refusing to help citizens who need their support," he said. The enterprises of the housing and utilities sector will stop subsidies to citizens from the budget, but they will provide them to citizens' accounts. "This will permit to reduce payments twofold and increase the quality of services," he said.

Under a new law, centrally control pricing will be one of priorities in the housing and utilities sector. "This step will have a powerful impact on modernisation of the production. For instance, water tariffs may decrease by 30-40 percent," Chernyshyov said.