A group of MPs, together with members of the Balti Municipal Council and functionaries of the Balti mayor’s office, are to draft a bill on the status of Balti municipality and to submit it to Parliament by the end of May, IPN reports.

In a filed meeting of the parliamentary group held in Balti last weekend, it was underlined the necessity of offering larger powers to the Balti Municipal Council and the Balti mayor’s office as regards fiscal activity, leasing out of municipal property, control over the legality of constructions, approval of taxes and tariffs for the provision of particular services by municipal companies, approval of social support measures for particular groups of people, etc.

According to acting mayor of Balti Octavian Mahu, the Balti municipality for several years in a row has uselessly tried to obtain allocations from the state budget for repairing roads, the water pipeline, the municipal hospital and other social facilities.

The necessity of granting a special status to Balti municipality was discussed for the first time in a field meeting of the Government in August 2012. The Balti authorities consider that nothing has changed in the relations with the central authorities since then.

On March 5, Parliament decided to constitute working groups that will draft by a bill on the status of Chisinau municipality and on the status of Balti municipality, giving them by 60 days for the purpose. The working group for working out the bill on the status of Balti municipality consists of Socialist MPs Alexandr Nesterovschi and Victor Sorocean, Democratic MPs Valentina Buliga and Efrosinia Gretu, and Liberal lawmaker Ion Casian. The Communist Party delegated Elena Botnarenco and Vasile Panciuc, while the Liberal Democratic Party is represented by Tudor Deliu and Aliona Gota.