Gov’t offers 200-lari vouchers for heating costs to people near occupied area

People living near the Russian occupation line in Georgia will receive 200 lari vouchers to cover heating costs during the winter months.

The money will be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund, said the Office of Georgia’s Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality today.

About 12,000 families living in the villages near the occupation line will receive a voucher, said State Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

She added that previously such vouchers were used to buy wood for winter but last year 62 villages were connected to gas supply, meaning the vouchers will now cover gas bills.

Vouchers for heating during winter months have been issued to those villages since 2013. Since then, 9,463,977 lari has been spent for this purpose.

Another project for the people from the occupation area is covering tuition fees for students. Tsikhelashvili said that the state will fund more than 1,000 students from the villages near the occupation line this year.

The number of students financed last year was 850.