Residents of the village of Bijedići near Bijelo Polje are outraged by the construction work started by the company "Elas" on the construction of a quarry at the Ober location, just a few tens of meters from the Neolithic archaeological site, which is 6.500 years old, but also the main water supply for the village of Gubavac.
One of the locals, Krsto Tvrdisic said that they are looking for the termination of the concession granted by the Government, that is, the Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimovic signed with the company "Elas", emphasizing that the works are carried out under the guise of geological research, for which they do not even have environmental consent.
In the opinion of the local Secretariat for Rural and Sustainable Development on the environmental impact assessment, it is stated that "it is necessary to start the process of creating the Elaboration of the environmental impact assessment for the given location".
Owner of "Elas" Sućro Omerović told "Vijesti" that he has all the necessary approvals and permits that they need in this phase, reminding that the contract was signed for 30 years, and that he does not need environmental approval in the first phase, i.e. one year.
The locals have announced a protest in Bijedići for today at 16 pm, stressing that they will not allow quarrying near the sites, houses, and water supply, because it would destroy life in the village.
Although Omerović received a positive opinion from the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties in Cetinje, the archaeologist Predrag Lutovac told "Vijesti" that such a decision was hasty.
The site in Bijedići with numerous objects from the period around 6.500 BC, discovered in 2012, as Lutovac previously said, "together with the one in the village of Radmanci near Beran, shifts the previous scientific knowledge about the change of culture in these areas", emphasizing that these sites are of great importance not only for the north of Montenegro, but also for the entire country'.
In the decision of the JU Institute for Geological Research, which "Vijesti" had access to, the representative of that company Anan Omerovic on October 25, 2022, with the Government of Montenegro, represented by the Minister of Capital Investments, Ervin Ibrahimović, signed a contract "for the award of a concession for detailed geological research and exploitation of non-metallic mineral raw materials, technical-building stone at the Ober site in the town of Bijedići.
The locals, as they claim, due to the illegal actions of the company, filed a criminal complaint against Šućr Omerović on May 3, in which they stated that "he is carrying out construction works for which he does not have a properly issued permit, nor does he have the consent of the locals, nor consent for the exploitation of stone, but it only has permission to test materials for the production of sand, gravel, stone and other building materials".
In the application he signed Dragoslav Tvrdisic it is stated that this company "does not even have an environmental protection report, thereby endangering the environment of the village by creating a lot of dust from the grinding of various stones for the production of sand and other building materials".
Krsto Tvrdišić said that ten days ago, Omerović appeared in the village and started using machines to build an access road in the lower part of the locality, without informing any of the locals.
"When he built the access road, we only found out later that he got a concession. After a few days, Šućro Omerović provided us with documents on the signed contract with the Government. However, he told us that the government 'found him' and gave him concessions, which is not true," said Tvrdišić.
Tvrdišić said that in November 2020, Omerović started collecting documentation and submitted an initiative for the concession award through the company "Elas".
On the website of the Ministry of Capital Investments, in the Draft of the concession act of the Ober location, it is stated that "on December 23, 2020, Omerović submitted an initiative to the Institute for Geological Surveys for the award of the mentioned concession".
Acting on the initiative, the Institute for Geological Research issued a decision two days later, according to which a commission was formed, which, acting on the submitted opinions, accepted the concession.
In the opinion of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties in Cetinje, it is stated that "there are no legally protected cultural properties and archaeological sites from the aspect of the protection of cultural properties" on the site in question.
Local Andrija Bjelopavlić said that they are asking to review all the consents that Omerović received.
"It is improbable that Omerović received the consent of the Water Administration to carry out the works, regardless of the fact that there are catchments of the Bjelopolje water supply system next to the plot, which are used by the residents of the Gubavac Municipality, to which the village belongs. If we do not solve this problem peacefully, we will block the roads and we will not allow him to take the stone away tomorrow. There are old houses in the village that do not have concrete pillars or concrete slabs, so in the event of any blasting, they would collapse. "Practically, we are working on works that will be about 200 meters from the first houses," Bjelopavlić pointed out, adding that the entire agricultural production, raspberry growing, animal husbandry, and wild animal habitats will be destroyed.
Krsto Tvrdišić said that Omerović is engaged in daily excavation and transportation of stone, destroying the roads that the locals built themselves across their properties.
Locals point out that Omerović does not even have their consent and that they are against any devastation of the space and environment in which they live.
According to the contract with the Minister of Capital Investments, Ervin Ibrahimović, signed on October 25, 2022, the future quarry is planned for 17 hectares in the initial phase, of which 10 hectares are forest.
Based on the immovable property list of the local Secretariat for Spatial Planning, which "Vijesti" had access to, 175 hectares of land, of which 174 hectares of forest (fifth class), were registered to the company "Elas" doo Bijelo Polje.
Locals have announced the submission of a citizens' initiative to the local parliament, in order to discuss this burning problem, and in the meantime, about fifty of them have signed a petition against the construction of the quarry, which they will send to the Municipality and the relevant ministry these days.
"Elas": We have all the necessary permits
The owner of Elas, Šućro Omerović, pointed out that he does not need environmental approval in the first phase of the research.
"According to the law on mining, in order to obtain permission for exploitation, the concessionaire is obliged to submit, in addition to other documentation, an environmental consent. For the approval of the research, I received urban technical conditions from the Secretariat for Urban Planning in Bijelo Polje. "For the purposes of drafting the concession act, as a basic document for the initiation of the concession awarding procedure, the opinion of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property was requested, which was positive," said Omerović.
He pointed out that he was aware that after the report, the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje sent all the documentation to the mining inspection, which is competent to control him, repeating that he has all the necessary documents.
When asked who performs control and inspection supervision, Omerović said that the control is performed by the chief geological inspector Goran Vušović, and that there is also supervision.
The administration made a hasty decision when it stated that the Bijedics were not registered
Archaeologist Predrag Lutovac, adviser to the Polim Museum, reminded that the site dates from 6.500 BC to 2.000 BC. years BC
"It's about the Vinča culture, and material was found on the site that associates Bubanj-Hum with the cultural group belonging to the Early Copper Age," said Lutovac.
Asked to comment on the opinion of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property 'that Bijedići are not registered', he recalls that the site was described by Č. Marković in his book "Neolithic of Montenegro", and in 2010 the Polimski Museum conducted sounding archaeological research and discovered extraordinary ceramic, bone and flint material, even parts of anthropomorphic figurines were found.
He assessed that the Administration made a hasty decision because since its establishment it has not protected any archaeological site in the north of Montenegro, although the Polim Museum has on several occasions initiated the initiative to categorize certain sites and declare them cultural assets of Montenegro.
"Such is the fate of Bijedić, for whom we have initiated protection proceedings several times since 2011. After all, the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Property has complete documentation of the archaeological research conducted, and even a layman could appreciate the value of this site based on that. Unfortunately, the same fate awaits other localities in Polimlje to be destroyed and forgotten," said Lutovac.
Delić: This is an act of vandalism
The president of the association of raspberry growers "Malina Polimlja" spoke about this problem. Andrija Delic, emphasizing that this is an act of vandalism first of all by the institutions of the system, that is, by the Ministry of Capital Investments, which gave him permission for "geological" research, and then by the institutions of local self-government.
"Opening a quarry would mean the death of this village, and our villages have already died enough, so this would send a clear and unequivocal message that farmers must move from their hearths because you never know when someone will drive them out of there with their arbitrariness and arrogance. Near the quarry there are pastures, livestock, plots with raspberries, fruit. Besides the pool for Gubavac, everything would be poisoned and destroyed by the opening of the quarry," said Delić, calling on the Minister of Capital Investments, Mr. Ervin Ibrahimović, to reconsider his decision once again.
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