Mrdak in a conflict of interest because of the Velja Goran quarry?

Former State Secretary in the Ministry of Ecology Danilo Mrdak coordinated the team for the elaboration of the study for the quarry of Velja Goran, which is located in the territory of the municipality of Bar, before the expiration of the limiting period of two years after the termination of public office.

Thus, as the lawyer reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on behalf of the locals Veselin Radulović, Mrdak potentially violated the Law on Prevention of Corruption.

After receiving the notification from Radulović, the EPA requested an opinion from the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK). The agency he heads Jelena Perović, has not yet issued an opinion on whether the former Secretary of State violated the law, given the restrictive provisions after the termination of office. The request to ASK was sent on September 29, and then, supplemented, ten days ago, that is, on October 17.

Among other things, the request states that he participated in the public debate on the environmental impact assessment report for the surface mining project of the technical-construction stone deposit of Velja Goran, which was held on September 16 in Bar, as the coordinator of the multidisciplinary team for the preparation of that document. Ph.D Danilo Mrdak.

The participants of the public discussion, as stated, raised the question of a possible conflict of interests of Mrdak, "because until January of this year he was the state secretary in the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism".

Both Radulović in the letter to the EPA and the EPA in the letter to the ASK indicated that, according to Article 15 point 1 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, a public official cannot, for a period of two years after the termination of public office, before the authority in which he performed public performs the function as a representative or proxy of a legal entity, entrepreneur or international or other organization that has or establishes a contractual or business relationship with that authority.

"Also, according to Article 15, point 2 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, a public official cannot, for a period of two years after the termination of public office, establish a working relationship, i.e. establish business cooperation with a legal entity, entrepreneur or international or other organization that, on on the basis of the decisions of the authorities in which the public official performed his duties, they benefit", added the requests of the legal representatives of the residents of Velja Gorana and the EPA.

When at the public debate in Bar, when the report was presented, the issue of a possible conflict of interest was raised, Mrdak denied it, because, as the portal glasmrkojevica.me announced, at the time he was state secretary in the Ministry of Ecology, he had no contact with those materials.

"The problem of this quarry is the spatial plan, when the quarry was drawn, no one reacted. I am not to blame for this, but the one who drew this," said Mrdak at the time.

The developer of the study, whose development was coordinated by Mrdak, is "EcoEnergy Consulting" from Podgorica.

The concession for the quarry in Velja Gorana was granted in the technical mandate of the former Government of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), whose prime minister was Dusko Markovic. The contract was signed a month before the formation of the Government Zdravka Krivokapića, in December 2020, and the locals of Velje Gorana, as they claim, found out about the quarry only when they saw construction machines in the village.

"Vijesti" announced at the beginning of March that he is a lawyer Veselin Radulović then filed a lawsuit against the Government and the investor in the Basic Court in Podgorica and requested the annulment of the concession contract. With the second lawsuit, which was then filed against the Department of Ecology in the Administrative Court, Radulović requested that the decision on the Elaborate Assessment of the Impact of Detailed Geological Investigations of the Technical-Building Stone Deposit of Velja Goran on the Environment be annulled. That report was made by the company "Medix" from Podgorica.

The Bar company "Trojan" was the only one to apply for the tender for granting the concession, and the tender commission evaluated its offer with a maximum of 100 points. In the lawsuit, Radulović stated that the concession was not given in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, that the legal powers were exceeded and that the contract was concluded contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Law on Obligations, as well as contrary to the views of the European Court of Human Rights expressed through the practice of that court. Among other things, he stated that the decision to grant the concession was made, "although the Government never held a session with the agenda for making this decision, nor did the Government make or later verify such a decision in the manner prescribed by the Decree on the Government of Montenegro".

In the lawsuit that was then filed with the Administrative Court against the department of ecology and the EPA decision from mid-November 2021, Radulović stated that it was brought in violation of the rules of procedure prescribed by the Law on Administrative Procedure, that the explanation of the decision does not contain the presentation of the party - the plaintiff, the factual situation based on which was adopted, the regulations on the basis of which it was adopted...

He reminds that in the appeal against the first-instance decision, the prosecutor, among other things, pointed out that the decision cannot be made by inspecting the project without going to the site, that it is a waterless area where the population is supplied with rainwater... Additionally, as he stated, it was pointed out that the population of Velje Gorana is engaged in agriculture and that the proximity of the quarry would threaten the existence of people in that locality, and that the request contains incorrect data in relation to the locality and the preservation of the environment...

The locals of Velja Gorana have repeatedly announced that "there will be no quarry in Velja Gorana".

"Velja Gorana is a beautiful village between Bar and Ulcinj, it has great potential for rural development, for the development of agriculture, organic production, eco and ethnic tourism. And it is sad that everything that God has given us is being violated in this way. The locals of Velje Gorane are mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, and this place is recognized for its very healthy and high-quality organic products. The question is, who can be responsible for making a wasteland out of a place like this, to destroy the hills, to destroy nature and our right to a dignified, peaceful and healthy life and to ultimately force us to leave our hearths", said a local woman earlier to "Vijesta" Edina Osmanović.