The residents of the Ulcinj village of Darza strongly oppose the reopening of a quarry in that local community, while at the same time believing that in the past they have only suffered great damage from this concession.
The reason for the reaction is the public debate on the Annual Plan for Granting Concessions for Detailed Geological Exploration and Exploitation of Mineral Resources in 2026, which was opened by the Ministry of Energy and Mining on December 30 last year. The public debate will last until January 19.
Following the Local Community meeting held on January 10, the residents of Darza sent letters to the Ministry and the Municipal Secretariat for Agriculture, Rural Development and Ecology, asking them to accept their explanation and not give consent to the planned concession.
The local community, which covers perhaps the most picturesque areas of Ulcinj, has a total of about 250 residents.
The letter emphasizes that the Darza Local Community is firmly against the concession and reopening of the quarry.
"This location is located near houses, a school, and farms, and in the wider area there is agricultural land suitable for farming and livestock, which would suffer due to the proximity of the quarry and the works in it. From previous experience, we point out that the quarry has caused us multiple damages in the past, which is reflected, among other things, in damage to road infrastructure caused by the use of heavy transport vehicles," the letter states.
It is stated that the damage to the roads has not been repaired.
"Therefore, we are appealing to you, within your jurisdiction, and taking into account our reasoning, to express your opposition and not give your consent to the concession. We ask that you do so within the public hearing period, until January 19th," the statement reads.
In the proposal for the Annual Plan, point five states that the concession is for the deposit of non-metallic mineral raw materials of technical and construction stone "Darza", Municipality of Bar.
However, the description of the locations states that the deposit of technical and construction stone "Darza" is located in the coastal region, in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Darza and Sveti Đorđe, eight kilometers northeast of Ulcinj, on the southeastern slopes of Briska Gora, at an altitude of 20 to 90 meters above sea level, and that according to the administrative division, this deposit belongs to the Municipality of Ulcinj.
According to that document, at least 20 people are expected to be employed.
The concession fee, it is further stated, amounts to, depending on the offer in the public advertisement - 70 percent of the concession fee goes to the local government budget, and 30 percent to the state budget.
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