Due to the well-founded suspicion that inadequate treatment in part of the protected area "Đalovića Gorge", in Đalovića Cave, on the territory of Bjelopolje municipality, by breaking through one of the entrances, directly affected the microclimate of the cave and that its ecosystem was thereby disturbed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a criminal complaint against an unknown person to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Bijelo Polje.
In the application that "Vijesti" had access to, among other things, it is also stated that the EPA never issued a permit for activities and works related to breaking the entrance to the upper and dry part of the cave, and that these activities resulted in the violation environment, when, among other things, about one hundred individuals died, that is, about four percent of the total population of bats known so far in Montenegro.
"With this kind of negligent behavior on the part of an unknown person, there are grounds for suspecting that a criminal offense against the environment and spatial planning has been committed, for which he is being prosecuted ex officio, and this event deserves the maximum engagement and reaction of the competent authorities," the report signed by the director states. EPA Milan Gazdić.
In the report, the Agency reminds that in September, after being informed that inadequate actions may be being carried out in an area under national protection, they formed an expert team, whose findings on the ground, they claim, showed that "it can be clearly concluded that there was damage at the location in question".
"And this is due to the performance of actions and activities by unscrupulous persons, without obtaining a permit for those actions from the competent authority, i.e. the EPA, in accordance with the Law on Nature Protection," the report says.
They remind that the report stated that the damage was caused by the opening of the artificial entrance to the cave, which directly affected the ecosystems of the cave, primarily the blind mice, which were in hibernation during the period of works at the entrance.
"And that their death was caused artificially. In the report, it can be seen that there are four species of bats, which enjoy international protection, because they are protected species of animals... Also, bats are protected by the national legislation itself and are on the List of Protected Rare and Endangered species," the application states.
The expert team concluded that the conservation works of the entrance caused physical damage to the stalagmites and other cave jewelry.
"Which, according to the report, can be considered a direct consequence of the construction work by the legal entities that were responsible for it, as well as the fact that the artificial entrance is inadequately protected from the entrance of third parties whose presence can cause a chain of damage to the site", they state from EPA in a criminal complaint. They add that it can be concluded from everything that there was damage to the environment at the site and that the damage was caused by the operator's negligent work, performing activities without a permit, which, according to the Nature Protection Act, he should have obtained from the EPA.
The Agency previously informed the Directorate for Inspection Affairs, Department for Environmental Inspection, about the damage report and the initiation of the procedure for determining environmental damage. As they state, they requested a written response from the inspection about the steps taken.
"We have not received any official written response from the UIP, except for a telephone communication in which they state that they have taken measures within their jurisdiction and thereby prohibited the further execution of works inside the cave," the application states.
As written in the application, the agency also addressed the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, i.e. the Directorate for Urban Planning and Construction Supervision.
"In order to inform them about the initiated procedure, as well as for the submission of available documentation and statements, whose obligation was to obtain permits before the start of the works", they remind in the application.
From the department of ecology, as they state, they received the construction application document number 12-3512/1 dated September 24, 9 and other documentation, from which, according to the EPA, it is clear that the then Ministry of Economic Development was the investor for the project .
"In the Record of the inspection from 14, carried out in the subject of the application for construction of the building from 10, you can see who else are participants in the project. The EPA also addressed other competent institutions in order to express their opinion on the procedure in question, i.e. damage to the environment... We point out that the Ministry of Sustainable Development (MORT) addressed the Agency with a request for the issuance of a permit to carry out actions, activities and activities within the protected natural area area "Đalovića gorge" number 2021-UPI-24/9 dated 2021/02/1066, in the same stating that in cooperation with the Directorate of Public Works, he is implementing the project "Tourist valorization of the cave above Vražji firovi (Đalovića pećina) with arrangement of part of the cave", in to the municipality of Bijelo Polje", it says in the application.
It is also added that the Department for Nature Protection, Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting of the Agency gave an opinion that when carrying out construction activities - retaining walls Z2 and Z3, wall of planters Z1, filling and greening of planters, planning of seedlings on green roofs, planters and around the building , furniture for the arrangement of the circle, there will be no damage to the protected area, and that MORT should be issued a permit to carry out those actions, activities and activities in the protected area.
Acting on that request and on the basis of the opinion of the Nature Protection Sector, as they add, on July 29, 2020, the Agency issued a decision approving the applicant to carry out the aforementioned actions, activities and activities. However, in the application, the Agency also states that it is clear that the EPA did not give its consent for the actions and activities in question in breaking the entrance to the upper and dry part of the cave, that is, the Agency did not issue a permit, and that this resulted in environmental damage to the location in question in the manner specified in the report of the expert team.
In the application submitted to the ODT, the Agency notes that the procedure for liability for environmental damage is ongoing, and that the decision will be submitted to the basic state prosecutor later.
The investor of the project "Tourist valorization of the cave above Vražiji firovi (Đalovića cave) with the decoration of part of the cave" is the Public Works Administration, and the works at the so-called tourist entrance are being carried out by "Novi Volvox" from Podgorica.
Bonus video:
