OREANDA-NEWS. March 27, 2009.  The Head of the Control Directorate reported to the head of state on the results of inspection of social institutions in the regions of Russia, which was carried out on the instruction of the President after a fire in one of the institutions in the Republic of Komi killed 23 people on 31 January. According to Konstantin Chuychenko there are more than a hundred substandard social institutions, and he has given instructions to the respective governors to rectify the situation by 15 April.

The President asked about the specific steps taken and the lives of people residing in such institutions.

Konstantin Chuychenko also reported that a review of the condition of the country's drinking water has revealed many shortcomings. He said that the Government is developing a Water Strategy for the Russian Federation through to 2020 and a plan of action to address this problem.

The President noted that Russia has unique reserves of clean water but added that the supply of high-quality water in many regions is very poor. Dmitry Medvedev stressed that the Water Strategy must contain not only a set of proposals about what to do, but also a specific mechanism for their implementation. He said that the federal authorities, the regions and business must work together to resolve this problem.