Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Basargin, how are we doing with the reconstruction of housing destroyed by the fires?
Viktor Basargin: Mr Putin, we have registered 2046 families who lost their homes to wildfires. The total number of destroyed houses is 2537 (including farm cottages) in 148 villages. Unfortunately, we added one more village to the list, the village of Vizhai in the Ivdelsk district of the Sverdlovsk Region. Twelve homes belonging to 12 families where 23 people lived were destroyed. They have been added to the register. Therefore, as of today, a total of 1381 buildings qualify for restoration. Their owners want them restored. As many as 127 people wish to buy housing in the secondary market. As many as 381 families have applied for compensation. There are over 135 families, mostly from the Ryazan Region, who have not decided yet.
We have already drawn the plans and schedules.
Vladimir Putin: The governors must speed up the allocation process and we should ask people to make decisions as soon as possible. Otherwise, it's very likely we'll miss the deadlines.
Viktor Basargin: Yes, we hold briefings every morning. Our recommendation is that they finish allocating compensation funds in two or three days. The timeframe is tight, indeed. Around 400 pieces of machinery and just over 2000 people have been recruited for the construction works. We expect, however, that at the finishing stage there will be...
Vladimir Putin: How many construction sites are there?
Viktor Basargin: 97 sites.
Vladimir Putin: How many sites are currently being redeveloped?
Viktor Basargin: All 97 are active.
Vladimir Putin: All of them?
Viktor Basargin: All of them out of 147. We have determined that 50 villages cannot be restored. People were evacuated to other villages and will be allocated housing there. This means we will lose some 50 villages.
Now for some technical issues: We have almost finished reviewing the applications for additional funding. We will have to allocate as much as 2.2 billion roubles additionally. Moreover, we would like to propose some changes to the Resolution.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, some changes are necessary because I met with people and there are some cases not covered by the Government Resolution. What I mean is that some fires were wildfires, not forest fires. Either a peat fire destroyed a building or a burning grass fire spread to a building. So, the wording must be changed.
Viktor Basargin: Yes, there have been requests from the Tambov Region, Moscow Region, Kirov Region and a number of other regions to update the resolution and change the wording from ‘forest fires' to ‘wildfires.' We would also like to clarify that funding will be provided for the construction of new villages on new land as some villages will be built from scratch in new areas. This must be specified here.
We are on schedule. Belgorod is somewhat ahead of schedule. They are already building roofs. There are only seven buildings under construction there. Tambov is also close to the final stage.
Vladimir Putin: Do you have timeframes and step-by-step plans for every site?
Viktor Basargin: Yes we do. Here is the integrated plan (shows papers) broken down by region and by site - the number of houses and the timeframe for each. Mr Putin, we also have more detailed plans for each region. They include specific tasks, such as design and estimates, with dates. We register what has already been done, for example, 69 foundations laid, and four houses fully built. This plan indicates which web cameras were installed and where.
Vladimir Putin: About the web cameras, there is now a feed I can see here and on my portable screen, but not all of them are well placed. I have recently talked to the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region; he has also had cameras installed. And those cameras can move in any direction. I don't have this option here on the screen. I would like to have it - you and I need to see the real picture, and other users should be able to monitor the progress of the work.
Viktor Basargin: I know. We are adjusting them now, because... You remember what the situation was like when we installed them.
Vladimir Putin: I understand. I am not complaining. I just want this to be done in the proper way. Please take care of this together with the Communications Ministry.
Viktor Basargin: Mr Shchegolev and I (Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev) have already discussed this.
Vladimir Putin: Are these schedules available online?
Viktor Basargin: Not at this point. We can also report on the progress done on additional infrastructure, such as - no water supply, no sewage - to monitor the progress of work.
Vladimir Putin: But you need to make the schedules available online. People must have an opportunity to compare your schedules with what they see from the web camera.
Viktor Basargin: We'll do that.
People are asking questions. For example, some people say they are not happy with the frame-panel construction design used for their houses. We've received complaints about this from four villages in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. We have surveyed the people, so that each village could select the type of houses they would like to have built.
Vladimir Putin: But this should be settled directly by the regional governor and the people. It is quite easy to do. These modern homes and modern construction materials are much better than what they had before the tragedy. Someone needs to explain this to the people. In some regions, for example in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, they are already discussing options for furnishing the new homes.
Viktor Basargin: We have discussed that at our meetings. There are companies that have offered to help, such as Novatek and other companies. Some have offered to build new housing free of charge. Oleg Deripaska offered to build in the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan regions. Two South Korean companies said they could donate $100,000 each. M.Video offered to install gas stoves in the new houses free of charge.
Vladimir Putin: Excellent. God bless them for it. Their help is welcome.
Viktor Basargin: There is a large sponsorship drive, to help the regions.
Vladimir Putin: They must not be discouraged in any way. Rather, they should be thanked and the assistance they provide must be used efficiently, not squandered. Their generous offer should be accepted and used to the greatest possible benefit. They should be used to create the greatest possible impact.
Viktor Basargin: We'll certainly do that.
Vladimir Putin: Good.