Rakčević: We are finally putting an end to the three-decade devastation of Podgorica's lungs

Luka Rakčević, member of the Civic Movement URA to the Assembly of the Capital City, announced today that he is finally putting an end to the three-decade devastation of Podgorica's lungs and that they are protecting the hill of Gorica from further investment ventures.

He said this on the occasion of the fact that the Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, Ana Novaković Đurović, signed today the Consent to the Proposal for the Decision on the Proclamation of the Gorica Forest Park Nature Monument.

"Two and a half years ago (February 10, 2020), I asked the Assembly of the Capital City to, in accordance with the legal provisions, direct the Environmental Protection Agency to the Initiative to prepare a study on the protection of Gorica hills and to declare Gorica a protected natural asset - a natural monument. By some miracle, the City a day later (on February 11) forwarded the mentioned initiative to the Agency, after which a Protection Study was drawn up, which created the preconditions for Gorica to receive the necessary level of protection. the only thing left is for the city assembly to verify that decision, which - I deeply believe - will happen as soon as possible. This will give 105 hectares of the Gorica hills the status of a protected natural asset, which will finally put an end to the three-decade devastation of our city's lungs and protect Gorica from further investment ventures." , Rakčević wrote on Facebook.

He added that, however, there is still a lot of work ahead of them.

"To begin with, it is necessary to carry out a detailed revision of all the inherited (and catastrophic) planning documents in the contact zones, so that aggressive construction does not continue along the edges of the hill. It is also necessary to monitor the process of establishing the protection of the hill, so that no more catastrophic events occur the city administration fails to keep the hydrants at the top of Gorica (in the summer months and in the middle of the fire season) empty. This is just the beginning, but the processes are finally moving forward," said Rakčević.