The Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO and public organisations are establishing a network of civil control committees to protect citizens' rights in monopolist-dominated sectors, such as the housing and utilities, electricity and communications sectors.

The project will be launched in 225 regions representing different economic and climatic zones of the Russian Federation. The committees will monitor violations of citizens' rights in the housing and utilities sector, provide legal support to the public and encourage the public to oppose the arbitrary rule of monopolists and bureaucrats, facilitate the attraction of small businesses to the housing and utilities sector and demonopolisation of the sector.

The work of the network of committees will begin with realisation of the programme 'Let's Put the Monopolists on the Metre'. They will constantly monitor the quality of the utility services provided to the population (heating, energy and water supply, maintenance of houses and the adjacent territories) as part of the programme. The YABLOKO party states that in many regions the population pays 80 and 90 and even 100% of the costs of utility services. However, they pay this at rates of consumption which are overstated several times rather than the cost of the services that they actually consume.

At present metres for hot and cold water have been put in private flats and houses in seven regions (Moscow, Moscow region, Amur, Chelyabinsk, Samara, Ulyanovsk and Tula regions), and by the end of July metres will be put in other project regions. There will be 1,500 metres in total. These 1,500 flats will be a sociological representative group which will make it possible to demonstrate how much money is wasted, how much money the housing and communal sector really disposes of and how much of this money is wasted.

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