Another region now has a Perspective Plan for the formation of territories of capable hromadas, covering 100% of the oblast territory. The Khmelnytskyi Oblast Council approved the document on 14 June. Fifty-three out of sixty-two deputies present at the oblast council’s session supported it by voting, as reported by the Khmelnytsky Local Government Development Centre.

Mykhailo Zahorodnyi, head of the oblast council, noted that the Perspective Plan is a document, approved by the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Council in 2015, periodically amended on the basis of the actual amalgamation of hromadas, which is voluntary.

“We gave hromadas the opportunity to move to direct interbudgetary relations and work for development. There are now many small self-governments that expressed a desire to join existing hromadas. Therefore, we need to make adjustments and cover the white spots on the map of the oblast. After all, the Cabinet of Ministers will not consider the documents of the hromadas, where there is no holistic vision of the oblast. On the other hand, hromadas now have the right to amalgamate on a voluntary basis,” head of the oblast council explained the situation.

According to Serhiy Yatskovskyi, Director of the Khmelnytskyi Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and MinRegion, 41 AHs have already been established in the oblast. There is still a lot of work ahead.

“Approved Perspective Plan covers 100 percent of the oblast territory. The Khmelnytskyi LGDC held a lot of meetings with deputies, we explained, discussed all the hromadas, options for their creation, and took into account all the wishes and feasibility of each of the ones mentioned in the draft document,” said Serhiy Yatskovskyi.