Mansourieh residents refuse cabinet decision amid ambiguous appropriation mechanism

The residents of Ain Saadeh – Mansourieh did not welcome the cabinet decision with wide arms. The cabinet approved to resume works to connect the high-voltage power lines in Mansourieh, mainly by appropriating around 85 apartments. They voiced their surprise at the cabinet’s estimation of the number of people affected and rejected this solution.        

The region’s residents assured that the problem is not limited to the people living in a few apartments, knowing that the cabinet assigned the Finance Ministry with the task of estimating the apartments’ prices and paying compensations.        

According to information provided to LBCI, this solution was also disapproved by the ministry’s officials who were charged with solving the Mansourieh problem. According to them, the appropriation of housing units in this region will prompt other regions to call for similar measures; the ministry will not have sufficient budgetary resources to pay condemnations on a national scale.         

Consequently, the issue of high-voltage power lines in Mansourieh returned to square one. Residents, who have been protesting this situation for 7 years, announced that they will go back to sit-ins, wondering: Why was the issue of high-voltage power lines dangerous when the Change and Reform bloc politicians were in the opposition ranks, and suddenly became harm-free when these same officials took over the Energy Ministry?