The organizations WWF Adria and Eko-team submitted today to the Government of Montenegro an initiative to terminate the concession contract for three small hydropower plants on the Kolašin rivers.
They reminded that the residents of Bar Kraljski have been protesting against the construction of those hydroelectric plants for more than 15 months, but that their problem has not been solved to date.
WWF Adria and Eko-team said that this initiative continues based on the previously sent expert inputs according to the Working Group of the Ministry of Capital Investments, according to which the concession contract for the projects of small hydropower plants MHP "Crnja", MHP "Ljubaštica" and MHP "Crni potok" ” void.
In addition, they add, it was pointed out in the expert input that termination of the contract should not represent any financial risk for the state because the concessionaire repeatedly violated the provisions of the contract and there is no legal basis to claim any compensation for canceling the contract.
"We believe that there are no grounds on which the concessionaire could continue with the construction of three small hydroelectric power projects in the municipality of Kolašin. The residents of Bar Kraljski have been reminding us of this for more than a year, and non-governmental organizations and legal experts have been warning about the same. The only reasonable solution is for the Government to start the procedure and evaluate the Concession Agreement for three small hydroelectric power plants as null and void, to oblige the concessionaire to return the devastated location to its original state, and all this without financial risk for the state. There is no other solution for local residents and non-governmental organizations," said WWF Adrije and Eko-team.
They believe that the competent institutions have been ignoring this problem and the demands of the local community for too long.
Although, in their opinion, there were grounds for earlier termination of the contract and although in the meantime the area where the construction of small hydropower plants is planned has become part of the Komovi Nature Park, the final termination of the contract and the end of the agony of the residents of Bar Kraljski are still awaited.
"It remains for us to see if Prime Minister Krivokapić can do something and encourage the relevant institutions to initiate the necessary procedures in accordance with the law to terminate this harmful contract for the state and the local community and direct the country towards a future where there is room for both nature and people." it is stated in their statement.
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