The locals were right, however: The mistake increased the scope of the expropriation for the Vragodo - Vrioci - Žarski katun road

The claims of the landowner that the planned expropriation of a significantly larger scope than necessary for the completion of the Vragodo-Vrioci-Žarski Katun road have proven to be well-founded. The designer has determined that the wrong line of acquisition was used in the expropriation study, which is why the document will be corrected, and the scope of the expropriation will be aligned with the main design.

However, despite the claims of the plot owners and accusations that there was no public debate before the preparation of the Expropriation Study, on June 19, the Mojkovac Municipal Assembly adopted a Decision on Determining Public Interest for the Expropriation of Parts of 79 Cadastral Plots on the Vragodo-Vrioci-Žarski Katun Road. This is land for various purposes (pastures, meadows and forests), owned by several citizens, the state and the Municipality, with a total estimated value of around 517.000 euros.

As "Vijesti" was told by the GPC company, which is developing the main project for the road to Žarski katun, or the future Mojkovac ski resort, "the need for correction of the expropriation study for the road project to Žarski katun has been determined." They also informed the Ministry of Public Works about this, they say.

"The scope of the road expropriation given by the main project is well defined, while the developer of the expropriation study took the wrong line and carried out the expropriation along it. It is necessary to change the expropriation study and carry it out along the line given by the main project. The scope of the expropriation is larger than what is actually needed and foreseen by the main project. Instead of following the given expropriation line, the study was carried out along the intervention line that was 20 meters to the left and right of the road," say the GPC.

According to what some plot owners told "Vijesti", at a meeting a few weeks ago with the Minister of Public Works Majdom Adzovic unnecessary expropriation and damage of around 580.000 euros to the budget were prevented. They remind that the road construction began 11 years ago and that the expropriation for these purposes was completed long ago.

"At the meeting, we informed the Minister that the entire road route has been paved and that there is no need for a single square meter of additional expropriation. The Minister did not have an answer to our question about why expropriation is being carried out on such a large scale. While the meeting was taking place at the Ministry, we later learned that an official email had been received from the road designer stating that there had been a mistake and that instead of two or three meters, a line had been drawn at 20 and 30 meters."

"After it turns out that we were right and after the error is corrected, as far as we are concerned, the contractor can come tomorrow and start work on the route," the plot owners said.

The Ministry of Public Works told "Vijesti" that the goal of the meeting with the locals was for Minister Adžović to "directly learn about their objections and demands in order to clearly detect problems, find a joint solution and thus enable the further implementation of this vital road route."

They claim that "only later, on June 25, did the Municipality of Mojkovac inform the Ministry that, according to the information at its disposal, a need was identified to harmonize the expropriation study with the project documentation."

"The project documentation for the project in question was prepared during 2024 and was subject to an audit, conducted in accordance with applicable regulations and professional rules. As part of the project preparation, an expropriation study was also prepared, which, in accordance with the legally prescribed procedure, was submitted to the Real Estate Administration of the Mojkovac Division for the purpose of implementing the procedure within its jurisdiction, after which the study was certified by the Mojkovac Division's Real Estate Administration, stating that it was technically correct. Only later, on June 25 of this year, did the Mojkovac Municipality inform the Ministry of Public Works that, according to the information at its disposal, the need to harmonize the expropriation study with the project documentation was identified," the Ministry said.

They announce that, as in all other proceedings, they will undertake further activities within their legally prescribed competences and in cooperation with other competent institutions.

The owners of the land included in the planned expropriation have previously stated on several occasions that the Municipality did not consult them and adopted a decision that entails “the confiscation of hundreds of thousands of square meters of private land.” They claimed that “the road has already been built and is bordered by retaining walls,” which is why they demanded an explanation as to why such a large-scale expropriation was necessary.

On the other hand, the Municipality explained that this is the final phase of the road completion project. As the Mayor of the Municipality said at the Municipal Assembly session, where the decision was adopted: Vesko Delic, new project documentation for the road to the future ski resort was developed to correct previous shortcomings and enable the continuation of the project. He stated that the Ministry of Public Works developed a revised project in 2024, which largely retained the route, but expanded it in some sections due to safety and terrain stability, which requires new expropriation with fair compensation to the owners.

Delić warned that the goal is to complete the road and ski resort as soon as possible, announced a meeting between the landowners and the Ministry of Public Works for additional clarifications, and said that infrastructure projects must be implemented in accordance with the law and public interest, and not according to individual requests from the owners.

The Municipality of Mojkovac did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions regarding the error in the expropriation report or how this omission escaped the ruling majority, which adopted the Decision on Determining Public Interest for the Expropriation of Parts of 79 Cadastral Plots on the Road Route.