Voronezh Housing Minister Warned Over National Project Failures

Yevgeny Bazhanov, the minister of housing, utilities, and energy of Voronezh Oblast, received a warning from the first deputy prosecutor of the region for inaction on a national project. This was reported by the prosecutor«s office on January 21.

On December 26 last year, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation concluded an agreement on providing subsidies with the government of Voronezh Oblast, represented by Yevgeny Bazhanov. The funds were planned to be allocated for several purposes under the national project «Infrastructure for Life».

For example, under the project «Modernization of Utility Infrastructure,» funding was intended for facilities in the Verkhnemamonsky, Paninsky, Kalacheyevsky, and Khokholsky districts; under the project «Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment» — in the Anninsky and Semiluksky districts, as well as in Novovoronezh.

Another additional agreement provided for funding programs for the formation of a modern urban environment in the Bobrovsky, Buturlinovsky, Lisky, Novousmansky, Ostrogozhsky, Pavlovsky, Rossoshansky, and Semiluksky districts, as well as in Borisoglebsk, Novovoronezh, and Voronezh.

Within a month, that is, by January 26, the Voronezh Ministry of Housing and Communal Services had to conclude agreements with municipalities on providing them subsidies for the above-mentioned projects. But not a single agreement was concluded.

This is not the only violation by the regional ministry of housing, utilities, and energy. As found by the prosecutor«s office, last year the national project »Infrastructure for Life« was also implemented with missed deadlines — agreements with districts were similarly not concluded on time.

«Deficiencies in the organization of work in this area could lead to failure to achieve the target indicators of the national project, negatively affect the housing rights of citizens, and also result in non-achievement of 100% cash execution of the budget in 2026,» the prosecutor«s office notes.

As a result, the first deputy prosecutor of the oblast, Dmitry Neverov, issued a warning to Yevgeny Bazhanov about the inadmissibility of violations of the law. If the requirements from the warning are not fulfilled, the minister faces administrative or even criminal liability.