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| The Governor of East Azerbaijan Province, Abedin Khorram |
The governor appointed to East Azerbaijan Province, Abedin Khorram, raised several criticisms during a meeting held by the Minister of Interior and his deputies with the governors of Iranian Azerbaijan provinces.
According to information published by the Fars News Agency, the governor of East Azerbaijan called for increased authority and financial credits to be granted to governors for national projects within the provinces.
"While national development and construction projects are entirely under the control of ministries, the responsibility for resolving the issues of these projects falls on the governors. However, governors are given no authority regarding these projects," the governor stated.
"Unfortunately, the credits for construction projects are not allocated in accordance with the economic indicators of the provinces," Abedin Khorram said.
The governor proposed that the Tehran government increase the authority of provinces and empower the governorates. "Allocating credits for projects should align with the progress of those projects and the priorities of the province," he added.
The governor of East Azerbaijan also addressed other regional issues, emphasizing the importance of resolving incomplete projects, the sale of raw mineral resources, and the challenges faced by Tabriz residents living in slums.
Referring to the Tabriz-Miyaneh railway, which remains incomplete after 17 years, Abedin Khorram stated that the project, despite being 90% completed, has been halted and requires a 2 trillion toman credit to be finished.
Abedin Khorram, who was appointed by Ebrahim Raisi, pointed out that 450,000 residents of Tabriz live "on the outskirts of the city and in substandard housing." He emphasized the urgent need to address the cultural and social needs of this population.
The governor discussed the province's rich natural resources, highlighting that East Azerbaijan has 8.5 billion tons of valuable mineral reserves. He criticized the extraction and raw sale of these resources, mentioning the lack of mineral enrichment facilities in the province.
Regarding power outages, which have become a significant problem in the province, the governor stated that East Azerbaijan requires 1,500 MW of electricity. He also noted that the situation regarding the province's natural gas supply is inadequate.
The issues raised by the governor in the meeting with the Minister of Interior have been repeatedly expressed by other provincial officials and parliament representatives as well.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Şərqi Azərbaycan vilayətinin valisi səlahiyyətlərinin məhdud olmasını tənqid edib