Bobokvati villagers demand to document their land rights

The auction for land in the village of Bobokvati has failed, as none of investors offered the starting price, the Adjara Ministry of Economy and Finance has informed. The authorities promised to no longer put up coastal land plots for auction, but villagers did not believe it and began collecting documents to legitimize their ownership of the land, Bobokvati villagers have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 19, Bobokvati villagers blocked the Batumi-Tbilisi railway with a demand to stop the auction for the sale of coastal land plots. They told the "Caucasian Knot" that they have owned the land since the time of the Ottoman Empire, but Georgian authorities are in every possible way preventing to register it.

The land auction in Bobokvati ended in vain, a source from the above Ministry told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, no one offered the starting price of 48 million laris (about USD 16 million). "The auction ended in nothing; the land was not sold; the auctions were closed," said the source.

The Adjara government has promised not to put up these lands for auction anymore, the Bobokvati villagers, who had protested against land privatization, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "But we no longer trust their word. After all, legally, there are no obstacles to put this land up for auction again. Therefore, we decided through the bodies of power to achieve recognition of our right to this land," Efrem Mskhaladze has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 26, 2021 at 03:49 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.