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Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon distinguished colleagues,

Tomorrow, a session of the State Council will discuss an issue of major importance not only for regional leaders, but also for the entire country and for every citizen. This is the housing and utilities sector and ways to reform this sphere.

As you know, this sector has been in crisis for years. Last winter proved this.

Regrettably, the prices of services in the housing and utilities sphere have been too high thus far, while the quality of the services provided is rather low. At the same time, the maintenance costs of housing stock and utilities are rising, exceeding, in some regions, even the rents and utility fees paid by the population. This makes the functioning of the housing and utilities sphere absolutely irrational today.

Tomorrow, we will examine the Government’s proposals and present our arguments to the State Council. On Thursday, the issue will be discussed by the Government.

There are several problems that should be brought to the notice of all those concerned. First of all, I want to stress that we must act very cautiously because ill-considered decisions may result in most serious consequences for the country.

Second, all our measures and plans in this sphere must rely on a clear-cut division of powers between various levels of authority: the local government and regional and federal authorities should understand and know for certain which issues are within their jurisdiction and make their plans accordingly. This is extremely important.

Third. It stands to reason that all plans in this sphere must be realistic; there should be no plans for planning’s sake, no plans should remain only on paper. All of them should be translated into life.

And the last thing. All the activities in this sphere affecting, as they are, the country’s entire population, must be understandable to everyone. Therefore, I ask regional leaders to use, after they draft and adopt the final decisions, every opportunity they have at their disposal in order to inform people of all our undertakings and plans. People should participate in this process, they should clearly understand what is being done and see the final goal of all our reforms in this sphere.