Chaired by Acting Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan, a working discussion took place on the issues of sand extraction from Araks River basin. The meeting was attended by RA Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure V. Terteryan, Head of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body  H. Martirosyan, Ararat Region Governor R. Tevonyan and Armavir Region Governor H. Matevosyan.
In the course of the discussion, the Head of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body submitted a reference, according to which there are 16 mineral prospecting companies and 3 companies having the right for geological prospecting operate along Araks River. In Araks River basin, the Inspectorate performed measurement works, the results of which were sent to the the Department of State Interests Protection at the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia.
As a result of the measures taken by the toolkit of the Prosecutor's Office, in collaboration  with the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body and Tax Information and Risk Analysis Department of the RA State Revenue Committee detected numerous cases of illegal exploitation: tens of thousands of cubic meters of sand and sand gravel, illegal extraction, disposal, transfer, storage and use of sand, mineral extraction permits issued to 8 economic entities in Araks River basin, Ararat and Armavir regions of the Republic of Armenia, out of districts.
As a result of the measures, the Department of  State Interests Protection at the  Prosecutor General's Office  of the Republic of Armenia, nine criminal cases have been initiated on the grounds of causing significant damage to the environment intentionally or negligently provided for in 1st paragraph of Article 290, violating the rules of subsoil use, causing significant damage to the minerals contained in it provided for in Article 291, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code. In criminal cases, a total of about 312 thousand cubic meters of sand and gravel extraction have been revealed, which, according to preliminary calculations, caused the state about 143 million AMD. In about 113 thousand square meters, cases of excavation, transportation, storage and use of land were violated, causing damage of about 10 million AMD to nature. The RA Investigative Committee has been instructed to carry out the preliminary investigation of the initiated criminal cases.
Ararat and Armavir Region Governors presented the complex of problems caused by the illegal entrails use: both in terms of changing the riverbed of Araks River and the degradation of landscapes and lands.
 Acting Minister Romanos Petrosyan urged his colleagues to discuss the issue in two formats, to create preconditions for solutions, each of them with its tools and levers influencing the immediate settlement. The first is to maintain the integrity of the riverbed of  Araks River, which implies powers beyond the authority of the circle present at the meeting, and the second is to streamline  the exploitation of sand mines.
Workshops on this topic will be continued.