Democratic Montenegro MP Nikola Rovčanin submitted to the Parliament of Montenegro a Bill on Special Measures for Environmental Protection in the Municipality of Pljevlja, stating that the state of air pollution in that municipality is alarming and requires a special and urgent response from the state.
The proposed law, which has the character of a lex specialis, was accepted by the deputies present and included on the agenda, Rovčanin wrote on his Facebook account, announcing that during the parliamentary procedure it will be further improved with proposals and amendments from other deputies.
Rovčanin said that the proposed law establishes a new relationship between the state and Pljevlja, with the aim of reinvesting funds collected in that municipality based on pollution and other environmental burdens into environmental rehabilitation and improving the quality of life of citizens.
The draft law prescribes special, time-limited measures that will be applied in the period from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2030, and whose aim is to remediate the deteriorated ecological situation in Pljevlja, caused by increased concentrations of harmful gases in the air.
The law introduces a special obligation for the Environmental Protection Fund (Eco Fund), which will be obliged to implement at least 60 percent of the funds it collects annually from taxes on harmful gas emissions from economic entities from the territory of the Municipality of Pljevlja through environmental projects in that municipality. These funds will be intended for projects to protect and improve the environment, as well as to encourage the construction and use of renewable energy sources, with the obligation of the competent state authorities to monitor the implementation of these measures.
The draft law also stipulates obligations for economic entities in majority state or local self-government ownership operating in the territory of Pljevlja. These entities would be required to direct at least 30 percent of the funds from the budget intended for socially responsible business, i.e. donations and sponsorships, to financing environmental projects in that municipality. It also leaves the possibility that, with the consent of the founder, up to 30 percent of the generated profit can be additionally directed to environmental projects in Pljevlja.
A special role is assigned by law to the Ministry responsible for environmental affairs, which is obliged to establish an office based in Pljevlja. This office would provide professional and administrative support to local government bodies and businesses in the preparation and implementation of environmental projects, as well as in applying for domestic and international funds. The goal is to enable more efficient use of available financial and technical resources to solve environmental problems in that municipality.
The Ministry of Education, in accordance with the Education Reform Strategy for the period 2025-2035, would be obliged to include in the project facilities in the rural areas of the Municipality of Pljevlja where the educational process is not implemented. These facilities would be put into the function of organizing schools in nature, as well as educational, cultural and tourist activities, which would, in addition to protecting children during periods of extreme air pollution, create additional facilities of importance for the local community.
The draft law obliges both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to provide special air purification devices in institutions under their jurisdiction, which are located in the territory of the Municipality of Pljevlja. This measure is aimed at protecting vulnerable categories of the population, including children, the elderly and users of health and social institutions, during periods of increased air pollution.
The law also envisages the possibility of introducing subsidies for households in the urban area of Pljevlja that use individual furnaces, in order to encourage the purchase of more environmentally friendly heating fuels and reduce the use of coal. The Government of Montenegro would establish the criteria, amounts and procedure for exercising the right to subsidies by a special act.
The deadlines for implementing the law are precisely defined, and the office of the Ministry of Ecology would have to be established within 120 days of the law coming into force, while the procurement of air purification devices in institutions would have to be carried out urgently, and no later than within 60 days.
The explanation states that for the implementation of the law, in the part relating to the obligations of the Government and ministries, it is necessary to provide between one and five million euros, primarily for the purchase of air purifiers, the adaptation of school buildings, subsidies for individual furnaces and the establishment of an office of the Ministry of Ecology in Pljevlja. Other measures, as stated, would be implemented from the funds of the Eco Fund and economic entities owned by the state or local self-government.
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