The works that have been underway for some time in the Medun area, about 15 kilometers from the center of Podgorica, have not been reported to the departments of urbanism, spatial planning, agriculture, or mining, oil and gas, and the machines at that location were operating without interruption at the beginning of the week, when the "Vijesti" team was in the field.
The works are being carried out not far from the Monument on Orljevo, which is dedicated to the fallen and executed fighters of the People's Liberation War, on plot 515, KO Medun, Municipality of Podgorica. According to cadastral data, the plot is owned by the company Hard Diskont Laković. According to the same data, the plot was registered with that company in July 2012, the basis for acquisition is purchase, the plot has an area of over 11 thousand square meters, and is registered as a "seventh class pasture".
The company did not respond to the editorial team's questions regarding the works. They were asked what type of works were involved, what was planned at that location, whether the investor of the works was HD Laković or another person, whether the works were reported and the necessary approvals and permits were obtained from the authorities, by whom and when.
In the Medun settlement, on cadastral plot 515 (KO Medun, Municipality of Podgorica), according to images from Google Earth, large-scale works, which involve excavating a hill, have been carried out for at least three years.

"Vijesti" first asked the authorities about this at the end of November last year, at the time the Ministry of Urbanism, Spatial Planning and State Property and the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas, in order to determine whether any permits had been issued for the location in the Medun area, which is under the jurisdiction of the departments headed by Slaven Radunović and Admir Šahmanović, respectively.
The Ministry of Urbanism, Spatial Planning and State Property then responded that the acting inspector went to the scene, where, among other things, he visited the disputed location, namely KP 515, KO Medun, "and noted that there was a quarry there."
"That is, stone exploitation is taking place, about which a document has been drawn up and forwarded to the actually competent authority, the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas - the Mining Inspector, as the actually competent authority," they stated in their response to the editorial board.
The Ministry, headed by Admir Šahmanović, responded to a query from "Vijesti" and said that the department "is not informed about the execution of the works in question in the Medun area, and therefore does not know what type of works are involved."
"We also inform you, as the Ministry responsible for concessions in the field of solid mineral raw materials, that there are no concession contracts concluded in the Medun area," reads the response they provided to the editorial team at the end of last year.
"Vijesti" was also sent to the mining department after an inquiry was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
The questions were submitted to that Ministry because the disputed plot is registered as pasture, or agricultural land, the use of which is prescribed by the Agricultural Land Act, which is the responsibility of the department headed by Vladimir Joković.
The law, among other things, stipulates that agricultural land can be used "for non-agricultural purposes temporarily or permanently", under the conditions and in the manner established by that law.
"Temporary use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, within the meaning of this law, means the use of that land for the construction of temporary facilities in accordance with the regulations on spatial planning and development and the regulations on the construction and financing of the construction of investment facilities, as well as the exploitation of mineral raw materials, the disposal of overburden, ash, slag, etc.," the law states, adding that "agricultural land that is temporarily used for non-agricultural purposes must, after such use, be technically, chemically and biologically recultivated."
"For the purpose of returning the land to its original purpose, i.e. preparing it for an appropriate form of agricultural production, within the period determined by the municipal authority competent for issuing permits for the use of land for these purposes," the law states.
In the event that agricultural land is temporarily used for non-agricultural purposes, the law provides for a misdemeanor fine of 150 euros to 800 euros for a natural person. For a legal entity, a fine of 800 to 12.000 euros is provided if the land is not returned to its original purpose...
The Ministry of Agriculture, however, after an inspection, determined that the works being carried out on the disputed plot were not within their jurisdiction.
"An inspection was carried out at the location KP 515, KO Medun. The competent agricultural inspector visited the area and determined that it was not within his jurisdiction to act on the report. It was determined that there are mineral raw materials (sand, gravel and stone) at the aforementioned location. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management sent the report to the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas, since Article 18a of the Regulation on the Organization and Mode of Operation of State Administration stipulates that this Ministry carries out tasks related to the exploitation of mineral and other raw materials, and conducts inspection supervision in the field of mining," reads the response submitted to "Vijesti" yesterday.
The editorial team again submitted questions to the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas yesterday.
In their response to "Vijesti", they stated that the case submitted to the Mining Inspection by the Urban and Construction Inspection of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property was assessed as incomplete, that the submitted case "was not accompanied by the primary initiative of the actual applicant for inspection supervision", and that they sent a request for supplementation to Slaven Radunović's department.
"Based on Article 60 of the Law on Administrative Procedure, it was requested to submit the basic initiative for conducting inspection supervision, including a clear identification of the disputed location, i.e. the number of the cadastral plot. We note that in order to be able to take further steps in accordance with the legal regulations and inform the initiator of the procedure carried out, the submission of the aforementioned documentation is required. Once the documentation is complete, the inspection will take appropriate actions, in accordance with its jurisdiction," they stated in their response to "Vijesti".
According to an unofficial source, the response of that department after the inspection will not be significantly different from before, when they said that they do not have a concession contract in the Medun area, so that department, the unofficial source explains, would have to be declared incompetent.
Bonus video:
