Residents of Upper Tserovani Village Request Registration of Plots

Salome Chkheidze

Families living in the upper part of Tserovani village in Mtskheta district have had registration problem of their plots for a long time already. Locals say the plots, which were assigned to them during communist regime, are still state property. They have been trying to register land but in vain. Since 2009 the land has been registered as state pasture though they claim the land have been their properties during centuries.

“Before October elections, representatives of the National Movement used to arrive in the village from Mtskheta and promised us to register plots in exchange of votes. They knew we were bothered with the problem for a long time and tried to obtain our support in the elections in this way. When the government changed we took drafts to the Mtskheta registration agency but they could not register because land still belongs to the state,” said Tserovani resident Tsitsino Sokhashvili.

Only 12 families live in Upper Tserovani now. Local resident Nodar Alkhanashvili said others moved down close to the central motorway and the village got almost abandoned. “The plots are located on the top of the village; let them give us the land and we will cultivate them. Moreover, we are not requesting other’s property. It was our land; collective farms distributed plots and they belong to us,” said Alkhanashvili.

“We request the new government to register the lands. We are going to visit the Civil Registration Agency again but unless they receive instructions from senior institutions, we will not be able to do anything,” said local Zaza Sokhashvili.

Population of Upper Tserovani does not hold any documents that prove their ownership on those plots but people claim they will continue struggle for it. Mikheil Rostiashvili said several plots were fenced in the territory and locals doubt the state is going to sell them.