Citizens of Bijedići: The Prosecutor's Office should investigate other cases of obtaining permits for quarries from the Municipality of Bijelo Polje

Citizens of Bijedići who are fighting against the construction of a quarry in that place reacted to the statement of the Secretary of the Secretariat for Rural and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Armin Sijarić, given at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office, in which he stated that when the Secretariat for Spatial Planning of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje issues UTU conditions, in that case the secretariat he heads is competent for the environmental impact consent.

SIjarić said this at the Basic Prosecutor's Office in his capacity as the responsible person in the case that was formed earlier, following a criminal complaint filed by the citizens of Srđevac, namely their representative, the NGO "Euromost", due to alleged suspicions of criminal acts of negligent work in service and abuse of official position, which relate to granting consent in the case of the construction of a quarry in Srđevac.

"We are seeking an answer to the question of how it is that in our case of quarry construction, the Secretariat for Spatial Planning of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje issued the UTU conditions to the company "Elas" from Bijelo Polje, while the environmental impact assessment is carried out by the Environmental Agency, not its secretariat, which can be seen on the website of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje.

We ask Sijarić to clarify what he said that "the Environmental Protection Agency considers cases only when a state institution issues UTU conditions." We are interested in which state institution issues UTU conditions," said Krsto Tvdišić, a representative of the citizens of BIjedić.

From all of the above, as Tvrdišić says, they suspect that in all cases of issuing permits for quarries in Bijelo Polje, and other cases as well, criminal acts were committed, and that the Secretariat for Rural and Sustainable Development was in collusion with other Secretariats, to the detriment of citizens.

"This refers to the fact that he assumed the obligations of the Environmental Protection Agency and issued environmental impact consent, and it concerns those cases that we suspect are connected to the top of the Bijelo Polje Municipality and that the Special State Prosecutor's Office must be involved in all cases, because some current members of the Parliament of Montenegro are also involved in the cases," said Tvdišić.

It is unclear, as Tvrdišić states, why the Environmental Protection Agency is silent and whether they are involved because they are not reacting to, as they suspect, criminal acts that have been committed.

"We wonder whether the Environmental Protection Agency works for the interests of individuals or for the benefit of citizens living in areas designated for quarries. We suspect that the "stretching" of the decision in our case also has to do with suspicious actions. If they are looking for the opportunity to move all the water, plants, animals and us locals who have lived in that area for generations, all their hopes are in vain, because we are staying where we are," said Tvrdišić.

The citizens of Bijedići are demanding that the Special State Prosecutor's Office be urgently involved to investigate their reports they previously filed in the case of the quarry in Bijedići.

The citizens of Bijedići give their full support to the citizens of Lozna, Pod and other places in the Municipality of Bijelo Polje to persevere in their fight against the destruction of the environment caused by the construction of quarries and all places where quarries have been illegally established.

The response from the Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Development states that this municipal body, in accordance with applicable regulations, performs tasks entrusted to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property.

"The entrusted tasks are carried out based on the regulation on entrusting part of the tasks of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, and they relate to the implementation of regulations, plans and procedures in the field of spatial planning and development," said the Secretary of that Secretariat, Haris Malagić.

Regarding the current topic of quarries, he points out that the Secretariat for Planning and Spatial Development of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, based on the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities and the Regulation on Entrusting Part of the Work to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, is responsible for issuing urban and technical conditions and that their jurisdiction ends there. "The concession agreement is signed by the Government of Montenegro with the concessionaire, respecting all legally prescribed conditions," Malagić told Vijesti.

He explained that the urban planning and technical conditions are only a technical document based on which the project is developed, with the consent of all competent institutions, after which the construction application is submitted, fulfilling all legally prescribed conditions.