PRESIDENT: PROBLEM OF SMOG SHOULD BE TACKLED ALONG WITH UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Last week, President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga gave an interview to the Mongolian National Broadcaster regarding timely matters. - Let's begin Interview Hour of the Mongolian National Broadcaster. This time, we have the President of Mongolia and Head of the National Security Council, Mr. Khaltmaagiin Battulga as our guest. As head of state, You proposed the Parliament that the fight against smog should be taken more seriously, as such, the issue needs to be considered as the reason to declare a state of emergency. You expressed Your position and asked the Parliament to study the possibilities of Your proposal. However, a working group appointed by the Parliament explained the issue of air pollution cannot be considered within the frames of the Law on Emergency. They explained that there is not enough legal motives, making it [declaring state of emergency] impossible. Is it Your view that fight against smog can become more effective, and actions, more tangible, with declaring a state of emergency? - There are many pressing issues at the moment, but smog is the most critical and hazardous problem of all. It's not a phenomenon of only 2017 and 2018. The issue has been on the table for about 20 years now. Explaining the damage caused by smog may require numerous statistics, but the statistics have become a nuisance. I can tell you why we should consider air pollution on the level of emergency. First of all, exactly a year ago, the National Security Council called a meeting on air pollution. As a result, the Government, Ministries and the City Administration have been obligated to fulfill many tasks and quite a number of recommendations have been issued. Unfortunately, the issues we have been discussing are being brought up again and again without any outcome. Air pollution is taken seriously only between November and January of every year. I have submitted my proposal on declaring a state of emergency to the State Great Khural (Parliament) on the motives to reach tangible solutions and take actions in order to stop the destruction. I proposed this in order to address the problem in a different way. I attended the parliamentary session in person to give comments. After meetings of two standing committees, a “so-called” draft resolution has been issued. - As the President, You have raised the question of dissolving the Parliament, if the Parliament should fail to take appropriate measures towards reducing the air pollution in the near future. Following Your statement, a circumstance might occur where the public divide and become vulnerable to political polarity. Do You think dissolving the Parliament can change the situation? - The Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) assumed 65 seats of the Parliament after the 2016 elections. Although the elections are rumored to have been rigged, claiming 65 seats in the [76-seated] Parliament comes with great expectations. The Parliament has been exercising its full rights for the past year and a half. Nonetheless, the Parliament neither lived up to expectations nor it had fulfilled its promises. People’s trust has been demolished due to the growing stress caused by air pollution and increased tax. As the head of state, I have made proposals to the Parliament on several issues, none of which was considered by the Parliament. The issues involved the distribution of MNT 55.0 billion. This amount of money was distributed as a one-time incentive of MNT 300.0 thousand to each public servant. The incentive overlooked the physicians working in family health centers, who fight like a soldiers on daily basis. The initiative of dissolving the Parliament came from the public. Also, a number of members of Parliament spoke out about it. - What will be your move in the near future? The air pollution agenda is likely to continue on the Parliament and Cabinet levels? -I have given interviews to two TV channels. I forwarded a specific proposal to the Ministers concerning apartments. Then I delivered a presentation on satellite city to the Cabinet. I was the Minister for Road, Transport, Construction and Urban Development in 2008. After its regular meeting, the National Security Council tasked me to draft proper solutions to traffic jam, earthquake and smog. As such, I came up with the policy on dividing the capital city into satellites Nalaikh, Baganuur and Zuunmod. The policy development involved German architects who formulated a complete project. I will continue to address this issue with the Cabinet Secretariat. - In particular, what legal arrangements are required for the establishment of satellite cities? Will you be initiating a bill? -If we reach consensus on the policy, there is no need for me to propose a bill to the Parliament. If we all understand the significance of the policy, the Parliament and the Cabinet could initiate and adopt the bill themselves. All it takes is willingness. Particularly, I have turned to the Prosecutor’s Office regarding an investigation on how the air pollution reduction budget was wasted. By doing so, we can prevent the same thing happening again. - Air pollution reduction will require a huge sum of budget. The Cabinet adopted a national program. It has been calculated that about MNT 9 trillion will be needed to realize this program. Seeing as the State Budget doesn’t offer much, how should we generate proper financing mechanism and sources? -I expect a little amount of fund can be allocated from the State Budget. The Ministries have their own budgets. If a war broke out, we wouldn’t just sit back and say we don’t have money. One way or another, we would solve it. If we all realize that air pollution is everyone’s problem, there are tons of solutions. We need the courage to announce our big projects. We have seen what happens when people rely on foreign aids without taking courage in the last 27 years. 27 years is a long time. I have always been saying that we must reflect on our mistakes and move forward. - Do you have authentic proposals on moving the big projects forward? -There are projects based on realistic study that were formulated during my two terms as Minister. For instance, I can mention the 100 thousand apartments and the satellite city projects. The New Ulaanbaatar International Airport project was launched when I was Minister of Road, Transport, Construction and Urban Development. It would be a delight if the project wraps up this year. Moreover, there are more than 10 similar projects including a one on wool and cashmere processing factory. All the Cabinet has to do is pick them. Read full interview at president.mn