The case of Mestia

The attitude of the Mestia Municipality Sakrebulo towards these problems must be noted and welcomed as well. In theletters sent to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia 36 and to the Ministry of Regional Developmentand Infrastructure of Georgia, the Mestia Sakrebulo requests high oicials of these Ministries to compensate thepopulation for damaged land in their possession and to simplify the list of documents necessary for registration of title toland. So far,however, there has been no response to these lettersApart from the numerous artiicial obstacles, the registration of title to land is further complicated by high fees payablefor preparation of registration materials. For instance, to register title to land on the ground of lawful possession, a personneeds: (1) land plot certiicate from the archive - 42 GEL; (2) electronic cadastre drawing of land plot - 60 GEL per land plotup to 500 sq.m; and (3) the Public Registry service fee - 50 GEL, which is not refundable if the application is rejected Intotal, the registration of title to one land plot up to 500 sq.m costs a minimum of 152 GEL, which is a quite large amountfor the local population in light of their income. Moreover, the local population in Mestia typically possess a minimum of3-4 land plots as pastures or hayields, which are scattered all around Mestia without bordering each other. According tothe law, if registration is requested in respect of several land plots, each must be registered separately. 37 Accordingly, ifone family possesses 3-4 or more land plots, their title registration costs increase directly pro rata.36 Annexes №3,4.37 Paragraph 17, Article 14 of the 15 January 2010 Order N4 of the Minister of Justice of Georgia on “Approval of Instruction on Public Registry”.16