According to the World Health Organization’s established norm, big cities should have at least 50 square meters of greenery per denizen. Cities with green space covering less than 10 percent of territory are considered to have an environmental problem. Tbilisi, however, has only about two to five square meters of greenery per denizen to spare.

For the last few years, Tbilisi’s government has been driven by recklessness; its businessmen are driven by amoral irresponsibility and insatiable greed. Naturally, the result was not long in the making, and aggressive building policy has cost Tbilisi many lives of its citizens and millions of lari in material damage. Unfortunately, those running the city have learned nothing from that lesson and continue on their destructive course. Concrete apartment blocks now resemble clusters of prison cells, and public spaces and recreational zones have mysteriously vanished from the city. Even now, construction companies gaze around with hungry eyes, looking for unclaimed space that might be of financial interest to them.

We remind our readers that after the flood, which took place on June 13, it was decided to transfer Tbilisi Zoo somewhere else. At this time, people began to gather signatures for a petition urging authorities to build a large park in the area left behind by the zoo. Fortunately, the people now more or less understand that if local arteries become clogged, lifelines grow stagnant, capillaries carrying vital air are lost and Tbilisi’s central districts are essentially doomed. In this regard, Vere Gorge is vital, since it is the only one among numerous small rivers and gorges in Tbilisi that still functions.

Unfortunately, it seems that Tbilisi’s social and business interests are mismatched yet again, and Vere Gorge’s green space is going to be sacrificed to the interests of the rich. After Tbilisi Zoo’s transfer from its original location was announced, we witnessed the emergence of a whole queue of people wanting to get their paws on it while it was still warm. The construction industry has already made its intentions clear: The Georgian Business Chamber and Builders’ Association announced a “Georgian Manhattan” project.We cherish the hopes that they were blissfuly unaware that The Manhattan Project was the US project to build a nuclear bomb. Georgian Manhattan, however, has a slightly different and much more peaceful angle: Within its framework, good people from the Chamber and Builders Asssociation plan to build apartment blocks, business complexes and a recreational zone in Vere Gorge.

Yet, is there a guarantee that the June 13 tragedy will not repeat itself? According to Emzar Jgerenaia, one of the project’s biggest proponents, the plan will be perfectly feasible if a dam is built in the Vere Gorge, preventing the flood from ever happening again. Mr. Jgerenaia claims that he has already discussed the project with several ministers and expects the government to officially endorse it. Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania also has claimed that if Vere Gorge becomes completely safe, it is possible for a business center to be built there.

There is one very important detail in this whole affair that should be considered: When the Georgian Business Chamber was holding a press conference on its new project, former Energy Minister of Georgia Davit Mirtskhuladze was present. It is believed he is now an unofficial advisor to the current energy minister, Kakha Kaladze. Therefore, it would be unwise to rule out Kaladze emerging as an interested party in this affair.

Also there is a player far more powerful than Kaladze, Mirtskhuladze and Jgerenaia put together: Georgia’s former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, never hid the fact that he supported moving the zoo from Heroes’ Square since 2007. However, due to disagreements with past authorities on certain issues, he had to set the idea aside. But not for long, it turns out.

This was Ivanishvili’s comment about the June 13 tragedy: “Many people will probably not like what I am going to say, but Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say. I never liked the condition that the Tbilisi Zoo was in. I even prepared a project in 2006-2007 and promised to assist the previous government with financing the zoo to ensure that the animals were provided with good living conditions. As you probably know, the current government supports transferring the zoo elsewhere, and I will contribute what I can to this initiative.”

One can only guess whether the zoo’s old territory will end up in Bidzina Ivanishvili’s hands once it is transferred. It is noteworthy, however, that the decision to find a better location for Tbilisi Zoo was made before the flood took place, and that some steps were taken in this direction. A dog shelter was built and a plan to transfer the animals was drawn up. It has recently become known that Cartu Fund has a project of its own for the new Tbilisi Zoo, which meets international standards but is quite costly. There is a high probability that Tbilisi City Hall will consider this exact project from Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Author: Rusudan Shelia